Yorktown was not the only other colonial town that held a “Tea Party.” Other cities included Newport, Rhode Island and Edenton, North Carolina. Edenton’s “Tea Party” was conducted by the women of the town, who are immortalized in this satirical print circulated in England.

You’ve heard of the Boston Tea Party, but what about the Yorktown Tea Party? The Yorktown Tea Party might have been smaller and lesser known than Boston’s tea party, but it shows that the revolutionary mindset was not just for the people of Boston. It was very much alive in Virginia in 1774.

The 1773 Boston Tea Party was the beginning of the end for the relationship between Great Britain and its North American colonies. Parliament reacted to the Boston Tea Party harshly by passing the Intolerable Acts. Among other things, these acts closed the port of Boston. Throughout the colonies, people were up in arms. The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in September and created the Continental Association. This was an agreement that all colonists would boycott goods from England.

In Virginia, the boycott of British goods went into effect on November 1, 1774. This was one month before the Continental Association boycott went into effect. Most merchants agreed to stop imports, but a few continued to import items from Britain. A ship called the Virginia arrived in Yorktown from England, carrying two half-chests of tea. The tea had been imported by John Hatley Norton, the Yorktown agent of John Norton and Sons of London. The tea was for a Williamsburg merchant, John Prentis. On the morning of November 7, some citizens of Yorktown boarded the ship. The men waited throughout the morning for word from a committee of burgesses (colonial representatives). The committee was meeting in Williamsburg to debate what to do with the tea and the ship. Hearing nothing from the committee by noon, the men hoisted the tea out of its hold and threw it in the river, just like in Boston.

Consequences of the Yorktown Tea Party

News of the Yorktown Tea Party spread. Several hundred merchants gathered in Williamsburg on November 9. The event convinced most Virginia merchants to sign the Continental Association. The York and Gloucester committees criticized Norton, Prentis, and Captain Howard Esten of the Virginia for ignoring the boycott. The committees published their criticisms in the Virginia Gazette on November 24. John Prentis had an apology printed in the same issue:

It gives me much Concern to find that I have incurred the Displeasure of the York and Gloucester Committees, and thereby of the Publick in general, for my Omission in not countermanding the Order which I sent to Mr. Norton for two Half Chests of Tea; and do with Truth declare, that I had not the least Intention to give Offence, nor did I mean an Opposition to any measure for the publick Good. My Countrymen, therefore, it is earnestly hoped, will readily forgive me for an Act which may be interpreted so much to my Discredit; and I again make this publick Declaration, that I had not the least Design to act contrary to those Principles which ought to govern every Individual who has a just Regard for the Rights and Liberties of America.

The following May, a letter written by the London merchant, John Norton, was also printed in the Virginia Gazette. He apologized for the confusion over the dates of the boycott. He explained that Captain Esten had followed his instructions to report the tea to authorities upon landing at Yorktown.

In Boston, colonists destroyed 342 chests of tea. In Yorktown, the number was much smaller – only two half-chests. Yet, the Yorktown Tea Party was important. The real goal of the Yorktown Tea Party was to support the growing revolutionary cause and demonstrate that Virginians would not tolerate any merchants who violated the boycott of British goods. It was one of many acts of defiance in Virginia. It convinced many Virginia merchants to stop importing English goods. Even though it was not as large as the Boston Tea Party, it had the effect of moving more people toward revolution.

Student Inquiry

1. How were the Boston Tea Party and the Yorktown Tea Party similar and different?
2. How do you think Parliament and the king reacted to news of the tea parties?

Next: Intolerable Acts