Philip St.Lawrence presented an illuminating and insightful talk today on the Boston Tea Party. Philip had previously provided a talk on General Wolfe and the Invasion of Canada.

The talk linked the official monopoly enjoyed by the East India Co. on import of Indian tea with the American Revolution.              The British Government had imposed a tax on tea imported by the East India Co., as a means of contributing to the costs of wars in India and hostilities with France, Spain and the Netherlands. The reaction of the Colonists was to smuggle in cheaper Dutch tea from Indonesia. A great deal of money was being made by the smugglers, many of whom resisted attempts of reconciliation by the British Government. The situation was exacerbated by a pedantic British governor of Boston (unlike his counterparts in New York and other American ports), who tried to enforce the regulations. The result was a "protest" organised by the smugglers (some of whom became the "Founding Fathers", popularised by slogans, such as "no taxation without representation" culminating in a raid by colonists, disguised as native Indians. on an East Indiaman in Boston harbour, dumping a huge number of tea chests into the water.

This was the spark, that ignited the American Revolution. In hindsight, a little more compromise on both sides could have avoided the Revolution, resulting in America evolving much like Canada, avoiding the bloodshed of the Revolution and the later Civil War. Slavery would have ended in America much earlier. It is interesting, howver, that the profit motive was so strong, as it remains in the USA today.

Philip's talk was enthralling and exceptionally well presented., rated as "excellent".