Original subtitles

How good of you to come so quickly,

And at such short notice.

Of course, governor.

Please, have a seat.

Let me begin by saying

What happened to your ship's cargo will not stand.

The crown will see to it

That you are fully compensated for your losses.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Provided, of course, you supply us with information.

Everything you know.

Everything. And I want names, sir.

Now, I'm quite sure

I already know the band of hooligans behind all this.

And I understand they were able to pressure you

Into making some ill-informed decisions,

But you don't owe them anything.

I will see to it

That they are tried

And imprisoned for their crimes.

But to do that, I need you.

Adams, Hancock, and Warren.

They were in charge.

Just as I suspected.

So tell me, when did they first hear them

Threaten to dump the tea overboard?

Well, governor, to be honest,

I never heard them say anything like that at all.

Then you saw them leading the men onto the ships?

No, sir. I was not at the harbour.

I was actually with them at the old town meeting house.

Mr Adams was giving a speech

To rally his followers to the cause.

There must be some mistake.

But I'm certain they planned it. They must have.

Of course, they planned it.

And I will get to the bottom of it.

Of course, sir.

For now you are free to go.

Thank you, sir.

This treason must not go unanswered.

Imagine walking through Boston

On the morning of December 17th, 1773.

The tea is still floating in the harbour.

The air is thick with nervous excitement.

Governor Hutchinson and the British have underestimated

What the Sons of Liberty are capable of.

The patriots have destroyed 92,000 pounds of tea,

Enough to brew 18 million cups.

And not a single Bostonian

Will say he knows anything about it.

"What tea party?

I was home sitting by the fire."

But as the British try to get a grip on what happened

And who was responsible,

Will the people of Boston remain silent?

Will they maintain their solidarity, or will they crack?

It's hard to keep a secret

When you're facing the business end of a bayonet.

With the last of the tea still sinking

To the bottom of the harbour,

Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty

Now need to get away with it.

Elizabeth, what are you doing?

It's only a matter of time before they come for you.

Well let them come.

I didn't set foot in the harbour last night.

You think they'll care where you were?

You have to trust me.

Elizabeth, listen.

You have to trust me.

Samuel Adams and John Hancock may well have been worried

That their names were being bandied about

As the leaders of the resistance,

But unless you can get witness to testify

Against a defendant, there was no one to prosecute.

Samuel Adams has put his trust

In the people of Boston to protect the Sons of Liberty

And keep their identities secret.

But as news spreads throughout the colonies,

Both sides begin to understand the scope of what was done

In New York and Philadelphia,

People celebrate when they hear

About the destruction of the tea in Boston harbour,

And it empowers them to take more action.

It's really hard to know what the majority of people

Felt about the Boston tea party.

There's a mixed set of reactions.

But there are other towns that were supportive,

Like, "yeah, we should do everything we can

To resist the tea act.

We're glad the Bostonians did this."

But there's probably some legitimate fears

About what parliament would do in retaliation.

Knowing time is of the essence

Governor Hutchinson doesn't waste a moment.

Hutchinson is outraged.

John Adams describes him scurrying

Back and forth around town

As he's trying to find out who is responsible for this.

And Hutchinson is probably worried,

What will the repercussions be in London.

Clear the square.

Hutchinson knows that the King

Expects him to find those responsible.

So he commands the redcoats out into the streets of Boston.

Open up in the name of the King.

Hutchinson orders the soldiers

To find the men behind the destruction of the tea...

Looking for willing witnesses and rounding up suspects.

As I told you, I was at town hall all night,

Giving a speech.

There will be no shortage of witnesses.

And there is no evidence tying me

To the events at the harbour last night,

No matter how many of my possessions you destroy.

We're done here, Mr. Adams.

For now.

Enjoy your freedom while it lasts.

There does seem to have been a great deal of worry

About possible arrests.

A number of members of the tea party,

People actually involved in the destruction,

Actually left town.

The governor is trying to get people arrested for this,

But he can't find anyone who can testify

To anyone else who was there.

It's really remarkable that the story is then kept quiet.

This is a huge act of civil disobedience.

Well, I suppose that could have been worse.

Elizabeth, please.

But not much.

Hutchinson considers

Whether he could prosecute the tea destroyers for treason,

But some of his advisors say, "I don't know

Whether we're gonna be able to make that charge stick.

After weeks of trying to find a witness

Hutchinson has fallen short.

He can't even find a British prosecutor to take the case.

Thomas Hutchinson did find trouble

Getting anyone to prosecute these cases,

Because they know how difficult it would be.

The prosecutor actually left town

Rather than take this case.

Hutchinson really finds that he has essentially

No more power to do anything.

He can't find anyone to arrest,

And he can't find anyone to charge with anything,

Although he's sure these people are guilty of high treason.

Back in England,

Parliament is demanding results.

When King George III first hears

About the Boston tea party,

He's actually initially not worried about it.

Then the news gets worse and worse

As they hear the full extent of what has happened.

They're like, "what are these Bostonians doing?

Who are these people?

Why would they think that they can just destroy

All this valuable property?"

the British, knowing that they need a stronger hand,

Fire Governor Hutchinson.

He is thrown out of his mansion and recalled to England...

Where he will have to answer to the King himself.

With the removal of governor

And no leads on their participation,

The Sons of Liberty can finally celebrate

To our esteemed former Governor, Thomas Hutchinson.

Let's not ruin a perfectly good beer now?

A man of great ambition,

Little character, and absolutely no backbone.

May they put that on his headstone.

As we laugh, Hutchinson is probably going to be set up

On a little English estate with some fancy title.

Well he's getting what he always wanted:

To be an Englishman.

It's one of the things

That I think we continue to marvel at,

These people who could have just gone along

But decide to take this step.

The Boston tea party is, in a way,

A clash between two visions of law and order.

Thomas Hutchinson sees himself

As a representative of the law

That emanates from the King and parliament.

The radicals in Boston also see themselves

As protectors of the most fundamental aspect

Of British political life, which is political liberty.

So long we never hear from him again.

Good riddance.

Little did they know the man chosen

To replace Hutchinson would be far worse.

Determined to put Boston in its place,

The King appoints a new military governor of Massachusetts:

General Thomas Gage.

General Gage.

Admiral.

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.

Assuring a smooth transition is my top priority.

With the destruction of the tea,

Parliament decides to get tough.

They don't like Governor Hutchinson.

We'll send them a governor who's a general,

General Thomas Gage, who's the commander

Of British military forces in North America.

Boston will be under military rule.

We're not dealing with some local politician any more.

The British empire is now cracking down with General Gage.

With my intricate understanding of the situation,

I'm hopeful that I can give you guidance

Where it might be required.

Thank you, but I don't believe guidance should be needed.

The King has made it quite clear,

Challenges to the crown's authority must not stand.

Boston will be shown a firm hand.

I couldn't agree more.

Good.

Because I will be keeping you and your men quite busy.

The new military governor of Massachusetts,

British General Thomas Gage,

Plans to teach the colonies a lesson they will never forget.

And the lesson will start in Boston,

Which must pay back the British East India company

For all that tea it destroyed.

But as it turns out, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty

Will be the ones to educate General Gage about Americans

And the way they'll fight for their liberties.

Lieutenant.

With General Gage in place,

Parliament drafts a set of new laws

Meant to punish the colonies.

They become known as the intolerable or coercive acts.

The coercive acts, as the parliament called them,

Were meant to bring Massachusetts into line.

We've tried to appease these people.

No more pussyfooting around with them.

Let's get tough

And show them what a real government is like.

This is Boston harbour.

In three weeks' time, it's the first of June.

Within a fortnight I want your ships

Stationed at Orbison point and Ahar point.

First, they pass the Boston port act.

We're gonna blockade the harbour,

Forfeiture of any merchant ships

That attempt to enter Boston.

The port act is probably the one

That has the biggest implications for Boston,

Because it shuts down the port of Boston,

No commerce in or out.

Boston relies on its international trade

Now that is shut off.

The Boston port act was particularly serious.

If you put a stop to all commerce,

You are really creating unemployment

For a lot of Bostonians in a very serious way

in addition, they pass the quartering act

Allowing British soldiers inside of American homes

They announced that we're going to send in troops.

Those troops can move anywhere within Boston.

They can kick you out of your house

And take over your home.

And finally,

They pass the administration of justice act.

In order to make this enforceable,

Parliament also passes something

Called the administration of justice act,

Which was to make sure that if anybody

Was charged with killing Bostonians

While enforcing the Boston port bill,

That they could be tried in England

with the ability to enforce these acts,

The British starve the people of Boston into submission

Threaten Bostonians within their own homes

And deny them the right to a fair trial.

The Sons of Liberty know they have to take action.

Gage has a noose around Boston's neck.

The man has no heart.

Nor a soul.

Which is why it pains me to say it,

But I fear there is little we can do that...

We slit Gage's throat is what we do.

Won't make things worse.

How much worse could things get?

There could be blood in the street.

We've seen what the British will do

When their back is against the wall.

I will never forget the patriot blood

That flowed on King street that night.

The cries of those dying men.

None of us will forget, Doc.

Which is why we do nothing.

Anything that we do, any action we take,

Will just result in another massacre.

Bigger and bloodier.

One that could crush any hope we have ever had of liberty.

We made our stand,

And now we must deal with the consequences.

This is bigger than us, Sam, and this is bigger than Boston.

If we want to take out Gage we can't do it alone.

Doc is right.

Gage is winning.

But Paul has brought word of growing anger

In New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston.

Alone, we are at Gage's mercy.

But together?

Together, we can bring him to his knees.

Samuel Adams really understood

That what Massachusetts needed to do

Was get the other colonies to go along with them

Or become involved with them and keep them on their side.

And that's really the big challenge for Adams.

Let me see what we have.

On June 17, 1774,

Samuel Adams drafts the resolves

Of the Massachusetts house of representatives,

Officially petitioning the other colonies

To come to Boston's aid.

The fundamental concern is that

Parliament has taken it upon itself

To alter the charter of one of its colonies,

And this gives Massachusetts residents the ammunition

That they need to go to the other colonies and say, "look.

If this happened to us, it could happen to you, too."

Samuel Adams really sees this

As both a major problem as well as an opportunity.

He wants to bring the other colonies

Into an alliance with Boston,

But really fears what will happen if that fails.

After the other colonies come to understand

How severe the situation is in Boston,

Aid comes in the form of desperately needed supplies.

Other communities around in other states

Send provisions to Boston.

Connecticut sends up droves of sheep and cattle.

Cape Cod sends supplies of fish.

Other places do try to provision Boston

To help them out in this time of distress.

By the late spring of 1774

Paul Revere returns with word from the other colonies

I was beginning to fear the worst.

I rode as fast as I could

But there are redcoats everywhere.

I added 50 miles to my journey

Trying to steer clear of their traps.

Well, hopefully the effort was worth it.

Are they with us?

It's complicated.

It's complicated?

The choice here is as clear as black and white.

The other colonies sympathise

With us but, the consensus is that.

The leadership in Boston is too volatile.

I suppose I should be insulted,

But I would much rather be volatile than servile.

Perhaps if they had spent the past year

With the crown's boot on their neck,

They would understand our volatility.

Perhaps if they...

Samuel.

I agree with them.

I believe these men share our goals.

They just want to make sure we get there

Without any bloodshed.

Now they've proposed a meeting

With representatives from each colony.

Everyone's voice will be heard.

Philadelphia volunteered to serve as host.

Philadelphia?

They won't back us if we don't go along.

Sam?

In response to the coercive act,

The Sons of Liberty across the American colonies

Get a lot more serious.

They say, "let's meet in Philadelphia

As part of a continental congress

In order to discuss these problems

And come up with good solutions."

They are willing to take a step

That's never been taken before,

To meet together to talk about the threat

That is coming to them from the British empire itself.

Not from external enemies, but from their own government.

Samuel Adams convenes the house of representatives

At the meeting house for the last time.

With the British soldiers on the way,

He moves to elect the delegates to represent Massachusetts

At the first continental congress

Write your votes down clearly,

And give them to Mr. Hancock.

The beauty of the continental congress,

Because you're getting delegates

From all the different colonies,

Is that it kind of created a critical mass,

That it would be hard for the British empire

To now go in and start arresting all of them.

So there was a strength in unity to this collection.

Gentlemen, the votes have been tallied.

The following members will represent Massachusetts

At the first continental congress in Philadelphia.

Samuel Adams, John Adams, Thomas Cushing and Robert Paine.

Events get much more serious, right?

In 1774, Adams is participating in the continental congress.

They're one step ahead of the British army,

And at that point, there really were warrants

For their arrest.

As word of the continental congress spreads,

Gage tries to capture the leaders

Before they leave Massachusetts.

But Samuel Adams stays out of the public eye

And eludes the British.

Adams, now 52 years old, has never left Boston in his life.

And on August 10th, 1774,

He sets out on a 300-mile trip to Philadelphia

And the first continental congress,

Not knowing if he'll ever return

I don't think anybody knows what it meant

To go to a continental congress in this time.

Was it an act of treason?

It was unclear.

Something like that had never happened before.

Sam had a genuine idea that there should be a rebellion,

There should be a revolution.

But he also knew that Massachusetts

couldn't do it alone.

Samuel Adams is definitely underappreciated.

He was always conscious that what they were doing

Was not fighting this for the purpose of benefiting us,

But thinking of posterity

And thinking about the rights

For which Adams and his contemporaries were fighting

Were applicable to all people.

As Samuel Adams races across the colonies

British soldiers move to arrest him.

But when they enter the Massachusetts house

They find it empty.

General Gage is too late

Admiral.

Any sign of Adams?

No sir.

None of the representatives can be found.

Then lock the city down.

General, we only have 4,000 men.

They could be anywhere between Salem and Springfield by now.

Then pull in the garrisons.

Which ones?

New York City, new Jersey, Philadelphia,

Halifax, and Newfoundland.

Sir?

This started in Boston.

It will end here.

Yes, sir.

On General Gage's orders

3,000 British soldiers pour into Boston.

How is Gage, in addition to being Massachusetts governor,

Is also the commander in chief in America,

And so he has the power to pull troops from other stations

To supplement his forces in Boston.

Gage wanted as many forces as he could.

He was also writing to London, saying,

"you need to send me more troops,

You need to send me more money."

Gage was perceiving the resistance to him

As having becoming military.

As the colonies move towards independence

Gage will use the full might of the British empire

To end the rebellion where it started.

In Boston.

In December 1773, the Boston tea party

Ignites a spark of rebellion.

It fans the flames of liberty

That have been smouldering for many years.

The harsh measures the British impose

In reaction to the tea party only fuel the colonists' anger

And reinforce their resolve to stand united

Against parliament and the King.

Soon enough the colonists will have to make a choice:

Bow before the might of the British

Or stand together and fight for their liberties.

Their decision to fight

Will change the course of human history.

We owe a lot to the men of Boston

Who took action on that December night in 1773.

But my favourite quote is from comedian Greg Fitzsimmons,

Who summed it all up:

"I love tea. I love parties.

I hate taxes. I'm in."

I'm Rob Lowe.

Thanks for joining me.