Charleston has the Tea
You’ve heard about the Boston Tea Party and its role in sparking the American Revolution.
But here’s the tea…
Charleston did it first!
Yes, you read this correctly. 250 years ago this December, patriots in Charleston staged their own tea party protest. On December 3, 1773, 13 days before the Boston Tea Party, Charlestonians gathered to decry the arrival of the British ship London and the 257 chests of East India Company tea it carried.
Unlike its more famous counterpart, the Charleston Tea Party did not result in the spilling of any tea into the harbor. In fact, the London remained in the Charleston wharf – with its tea onboard – for nearly 20 days until the tea was seized and stored in the basement of the Exchange Building.
Manners have always been important in the South, and this more civilized protest has taken a backseat to the rebellious affair that would later take place in Boston. This 250th anniversary, however, is the perfect time to make some noise about Charleston’s place in American Revolution history.
The Powder Magazine Museum and NSCDA-SC, in partnership with the Old Exchange Building, will host Charleston’s Tea Party Protest on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. This event is free and open to the public. We want to invite guests of all ages back to where it happened 250 years ago to see how the road to America’s independence began in the South.
For more information on the history of this event, see 10 Facts About Charleston’s 1773 Tea Protests.
