Original subtitles

Get back. I'm warning you, I will shoot.

We are warning you, sir.

Return fire.

Have you lost your faculties, sir?

Take a look around, Clarke. You're outgunned.

Enough of this. On me, men.

Molineux, he's been hit.

We won't settle this tonight.

We need to get him to Doc Warren. Take him away.

You'll regret this, Clarke.

Mark my words.

After the Sons of Liberty exchange gunfire

With the tea agents, there's no turning back.

It's early November, 1773 and the clock's ticking.

Samuel Adams and the patriots have just a few weeks

Before the ships bearing the tea arrive in Boston.

Now you might think that cooler heads would prevail

And the crisis could be averted,

But not when the governor of Massachusetts,

Thomas Hutchinson, a colonist appointed by King George III

Is so hopelessly compromised.

Hutchinson has named his own family members

And friends as tea agents.

So he stands to benefit personally from the tea act

And everyone in Boston knows it.

The Sons of Liberty's strategy,

Pressuring the tea agents to resign,

Has proved more difficult than expected.

Richard Clarke and sons become prominent figures

In the fight leading up to the Boston tea party.

Molineux challenges the Clarkes and says,

"we want you to agree not to receive the tea"

And there's intimidation at the Clarke's house.

Though Clarke fired first,

William Molineux knows an all-out attack

Would be an act of war.

They've made their point.

Remember Samuel Adams said,

"putting your enemy in the wrong,

Making them be the provocateurs."

If one of the Clarkes is shooting at us,

That makes us in the right.

We want to keep ourselves in the right

As much as we want to keep our enemies in the wrong.

Governor Hutchinson realises that as long

As Samuel Adams can intimidate the tea agents,

He's vulnerable.

So he moves the agents into castle William.

Under the British army's protection.

The tea agents from that point on take shelter

In the barracks on castle island in Boston harbour.

With the tea agents out of reach

Behind the walls of castle William,

Pushing them to resign is no longer an option.

Samuel Adams calls the Sons of Liberty,

William Molineux, John Hancock,

Joseph Warren and Paul Revere to figure out a new plan.

No one asked me,

But I say the moment those ships drop anchor, we board them,

Light them on a fire, push them out to sea,

Let them watch their tea burn in the harbour.

And lay a torch to the entire city while we're at it?

That's exactly what the British army will do.

It is what this is coming to, mark my words.

There has to be another way.

What we need to do is improve our focus.

We need to put more pressure on Hutchinson.

And the tea agents.

They already have their feet to the fire.

If we can get just one of them to resign,

It's going to send a message to the others.

The time for messages is over now.

Yes, you've made that quite clear.

Well, I'm certainly not gonna be throwing

Any stones at castle William.

Are you gonna say anything?

Patience.

Patience.

Samuel Adams knows that

As the ships close in on their destinations,

Boston won't be the only place to push back.

There are tea shipments being sent

To Charleston, South Carolina, to Philadelphia,

To New York City and to Boston.

The new yorkers in the Philadelphian say,

"hey, we're gonna pressure the governors.

We're gonna force these tea ships to turn around

With their tea still aboard and go back to London."

Adams is waiting to see how the governors

Of the other colonies respond and finally receives word

From the Sons of Liberty operating outside of Boston.

After weeks of intense protests,

The governors of Pennsylvania and New York have given in

To public pressure

And have secured their tea agent's resignations.

The Bostonians knew that in Philadelphia,

The ship had been turned back

Before it got into the custom zone.

In New York, there were similar threats.

In Charleston, the situation wasn't quite clear.

But in Boston, the royal governor

And the royal customs officers were not willing to bend.

The governors in New York and Pennsylvania

Are not playing hardball the way that Hutchinson is.

So Boston is the place

Where the most vehement resistors come into contact

With the hardest line governor.

Now, knowing the other colonies were able

To pressure their governors,

Samuel Adams plans to turn the public's frustration

With the crown entirely on governor Hutchinson.

First he works with Dr Warren

To launch a relentless political campaign,

Writing letters, articles, and pamphlets.

Did not our ancestors when they accepted this charter,

Understand that they had contracted for a free government.

Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren

Were both very talented writers.

They write a number of political pieces

Protesting the various acts of parliament

And advocating for Liberty-minded ideals in Boston.

Together they write

Under dozens of different pseudonyms,

Ensuring that they are making every argument they can

While preventing the British

From finding the source of provocation.

He's always very careful to use a pseudonym.

He uses dozens of different pseudonyms to cover his tracks

And burning his papers because this is treasonous.

While Samuel Adams and Dr Warren write,

Paul Revere and other express writers carry their message

Across the colonies.

Samuel Adams was always interested

In building stronger ties with supporters elsewhere.

He was very much trying to recruit support

From other parts of North America.

And it doesn't take long

Before patriots start writing back.

Communities gather and send a flurry of responses

To the Sons of Liberty in Boston.

These exchanges form what is known

As the committees of correspondence.

So Sam Adams understood

That Massachusetts couldn't rebel alone.

When he starts publishing these op-eds in newspapers all

Up and down the eastern seaboard,

Now colonials far away as the south are thinking,

If we don't stand up for Massachusetts,

The British empire is gonna come for us next.

This is a genius thing,

You wonder why no one did it before.

Creating this framework which will allow

For this resistance movement to become a revolution.

As November unfolds,

The tea ships get closer and closer to Boston.

The entire colony of Massachusetts knows

About the tea act and its tax.

Now Samuel Adams needs to direct the public's outrage

And he plans to take action

On a night famous for its demonstrations,

November 5th, also known as Pope's night.

One of the annual events, every November 5th,

Was Pope's day, where a mob would make an effigy of the Pope

And parade it through the streets

And they would have a bonfire.

But in 1773, Pope's night isn't about the Pope.

It's about governor Hutchinson.

Samuel Adams summons everyone's sympathetic

To the patriot cause to come to Boston

And make their voices heard.

Down with the crown. Down with the governor.

Down with the crown. Down with the governor.

Down with the crown. Down with the governor.

Breaking with tradition,

They burn an effigy of governor Thomas Hutchinson.

Hard to believe such a cold hearted man could burn so hot.

You do have a way with words, my friend.

And god knows your words sure inspired them.

For his sake, I hope the governor is listening.

Samuel Adams not only made Thomas Hutchinson into a guy

Who's made bad political choices

Or has different political views.

He is the embodiment of evil for us,

Which is something that completely baffles Hutchinson.

Although Hutchinson closely follows the protests

And knows how unpopular he's become,

For weeks, he continues to ignore the will of the people

And officially denies all petitions

To withdraw the tea agents.

Thomas Hutchinson says, "I've got 6,000 soldiers in town.

I've got a number of warships in the harbour.

I'm not gonna be intimidated by the radical leaders.

We observe law and order here in this colony."

with the full might

Of the British army and navy behind him,

Hutchinson is willing to defy the people of Massachusetts

Knowing that the first of the ships will arrive any day.

After two months at sea,

The day Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty

Have been dreading has come.

The first of the ships, the Dartmouth,

Bearing 114 chests of tea docks in Boston harbour.

Now it is only a matter of time

Before Hutchinson can take control of the tea

And make sure it's sold and taxed

And he doesn't waste a moment.

Please take a seat.

To expedite the process,

Governor Hutchinson summons the ship's owner Francis Rotch.

Francis Rotch was a ship owner from new Bedford

And it happens he owns the Dartmouth.

As a man not from Boston, as a merchant,

Francis Rotch was not involved in the previous years

Of politics in Boston.

I've been meaning to make your acquaintance

As I'm an admirer of the important work that you do

To supply our fair colony with important goods.

Well, I thank you, sir.

I've certainly put my best effort forward.

As you are probably aware,

We have been eagerly anticipating the Dartmouth's arrival.

As have I, governor.

The ship has lost a fair amount of time at sea.

My apologies.

No need to apologise, my good man,

At sea we are all at the Lord's mercy.

I am merely grateful that the cargo has arrived safely

And I wanted to let you know personally

That I will do everything in my power

To expedite the customs process.

I don't know what to say.

This will put us right back on schedule.

How can I thank you?

Think nothing of it.

Though I am running dangerously low on tea,

So the sooner the better.

Hutchinson knows

Once he gets the tea unloaded and distributed,

There is nothing the Sons of Liberty will be able to do.

How long do you think we have?

Once the owner of the ship secures his permit for customs,

Probably not long.

Then we bribe him.

Tell him to send it all back to England.

That'll cost you a pretty penny.

I'm not saying it's not worth trying, but...

What if we delayed them?

Can we at least buy ourselves some time?

Yes, but we'll see 20 days at most.

Under British law,

The ships can only remain in port for 20 days.

After 20 days they have to be unloaded.

Everything in port has to be taxed.

The presumption is if you're keeping your ship for 20 days,

You're probably unloading stuff.

So it all has to be inspected and taxed.

So the clock starts ticking once the first ship arrives.

Who owns the Dartmouth?

The Sons of Liberty are in an awful bind

And running out of options.

They've tried everything

To pressure governor Hutchinson and his tea agents.

The governor won't budge.

When the Dartmouth pulls into Boston harbour,

Their mission is suddenly crystal clear.

Keep the tea on board until they can figure out what to do.

Could they convince the ship's owner

To sail the Dartmouth straight back to England

Without unloading a single crate of tea?

With that in mind,

Samuel Adams and John Hancock invite the captain

To have a little chat over a beer at their usual spot,

The green dragon tavern.

Mr Revere tells me

That you have a business proposal of some sort.

Indeed we do.

We'd like to propose

That you send the Dartmouth back to England.

Without unloading its cargo.

And you will of course be well compensated.

I'll see you to that.

I appreciate the offer, gentlemen,

But I'm afraid I have no choice in this matter.

I have schedules to maintain, orders to fill.

The Dartmouth will be sailing

To England in one month's time,

But she's contracted to be carrying a full load of oil.

There's no room for anything else.

In that case, how do you feel about filing an appeal

With customs telling them that certain items

Are no longer permitted to be imported into the city?

Certain items?

You have 114 chests of tea in the belly of your ship.

I'm sorry. How do you know if the ship's cargo?

The manifest is a matter of public record.

And that tea must not enter Boston.

Gentlemen, while I empathise with the patriot caused,

You must understand I have a contract with the crown

And that contract...

Will aid in the establishment

Of a tyrannical and unlawful tax upon the people.

Why don't you sleep on it

And tell us your answer in the morning?

I am sorry, gentlemen. I wish I could help you, but I...

You seem hesitant.

I understand, but let me make one thing perfectly clear.

If one ounce of that tea leaves your ship,

We'll make certain that no one in this city,

And I mean no one will ever do business with you again.

Do you understand?

Sleep on it.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Francis Rotch was really between a rock and a hard place.

If he just left the cargo on board the ship,

Then that ship could be confiscated by the custom's office

And he would lose a great deal of money.

Or there was still the possibility

That the Boston mob would decide that the way

To destroy the tea would be

To destroy the whole ship and burn it.

And he didn't want that to happen either.

Knowing that Rotch might need convincing,

The Sons of Liberty plan to send any merchant thinking

Of accepting the British tea a clear message.

Any business that is friendly

To the British is marked with a T for Tory,

A word used to describe supporters of the British.

The American merchants who agreed to receive the tea,

They don't really understand what might be at stake here

Or they just think they can get away with it.

And it's not until the Massachusetts radicals realise

What an important opportunity this is

To make a political statement that merchants start

To realise they might be in trouble for accepting this tea.

The pressure on the merchants sends a clear signal

And Rotch has agreed to hold off unloading the tea

For the 20 days that he can.

While that is bought some time,

It has set all of Boston on edge.

Everyone is waiting to see

What the Sons of Liberty will do next,

Including Samuel Adams' wife Elizabeth.

Well, it sounds as if word has spread like wildfire.

And still Hutchinson will do nothing.

He must be furious.

Well then what will you do?

We have every indication

That Elizabeth Adams is on the same page

As her husband politically.

Sam Adams seems to trust her implicitly.

And there's every indication

That Elizabeth Adams and her husband collaborate

And think together, not just work together.

As the days pass, the tea is left untouched

Below the decks on the Dartmouth.

But it's not long

Before governor Hutchinson takes notice and demands answers.

Do you know what this is?

I- your unloading permit.

Oh, well thank you...

I stopped by the customs house this morning.

They informed me it was issued days ago.

Yes, sorry for the delay, governor,

My schedule has become extraordinarily busy.

Fortunately, I made room in my schedule

And now I presume you will make preparations

To begin unloading your ship at once.

Yes, of course, though I will need to account

For my full inventory and recheck my log books.

And there are several protocols...

I understand.

There may be some small delays.

But I do not think I need to remind you

That if your ship's cargo is not completely unloaded

By the stroke of midnight on December 16th,

That I will instruct the royal navy to seize the Dartmouth

And all its contents.

Governor, there is no need to worry, this...

And if, for some reason, you attempt to sail away

Without unloading my tea,

Then the British warships in the harbour have been instructed

To destroy the Dartmouth and all its contents.

I think what Francis Rotch most wants is

To be able to load his ship and head back to London

And continue to do business.

He ends up inadvertently being

At the centre of this controversy

That he probably didn't want any part of.

With only two weeks left

Before the British can legally seize the tea

From the Dartmouth.

Look.

The next ship, the Eleanor,

Arrives in Boston harbour.

There she is, the Eleanor.

The Sons of Liberty learn what they can and regroup.

But with governor Hutchinson moving ahead,

Ready and willing to push aside all dissent,

Things are beginning to look dire.

According to our friends in customs,

The Eleanor is carrying 114 chests of tea on it.

And it gets worse,

As I'm told in a little less than two weeks time

Another ship, the beaver,

Will be carrying another 112 crates.

Oh, we can't possibly stop them all.

We're running out of time.

I need to talk to John.

As each of these events took place,

It ratcheted up the pressure

Because now there is more tea at stake

And more tea tax at stake,

running out of options

And desperate to avoid violence,

Samuel Adams reaches out to someone

With a deep knowledge of the law,

His cousin John Adams.

John Adams doesn't become a front person,

But he and Samuel Adams do become good partners.

He's very much an outsider, but a very good lawyer.

I must admit I was having no luck, beginning to lose hope.

Then I remembered this.

Essentially it states that a ship's cargo

That is lost its sea or damaged from inclement weather,

Such as a storm, for instance, is considered lost property.

So what are you saying?

That if that tea were to somehow end up in that harbour,

It would be written off as a loss.

Is that what you're saying?

Not me. The law.

And no one would be held responsible.

Can one hold a storm responsible?

It states, "that ship's owner should be absolved

Of all responsibility

And the insurers must compensate him for his loss."

Have a look.

Everyone wins except, of course, the governor.

Now all you need is a storm.

All right then.

With less than a week left

Before the tea is seized by force,

Samuel Adams knows dumping the tea

Into the harbour is the last best chance they have.

Well, let's get to business

now all he has to do is figure out

How to do it without getting caught.

Okay, here's the plan.

It is now early December, 1773.

Governor Hutchinson is still hiding in his mansion

Behind the British army, refusing to compromise.

He's running out the clock and Samuel Adams knows it.

Once the deadline of December 16th passes

In less than two weeks,

The Sons of Liberty will have lost any chance

Of putting an end to the tea act.

Feeling the squeeze,

Adams and his fellow patriots will have to run a risk

That could result in their arrest for treason.

They must get their hands on the 340 chest of tea belonging

To the British east India company

And dump it all in the harbour.

They call this mixing the tea with salt water

And they must do it without violence,

Leave no evidence behind and swear everyone to silence.