Did American Colonists think about China?

Boston Tea Party: Why China Mattered to the American Revolution – Part I China wasn’t part of the American Revolution… or was it? In the 1760s and 1770s, American colonists weren’t just thinking about liberty—they were thinking about status, taste, and refinement. Tea, porcelain, and lacquerware weren’t trivial imports. They were tied to British culture […]

Boston Tea Party: Why China Mattered to the American Revolution

Introduction In this interview: “I should also say that part of what’s going on in the colonies, and part of what, you know, intersects with the revolution is that colonists are inveterate smugglers…” Watch this section in the video below (00:11:37). Most Americans don’t immediately link China to the Revolution—but trade with East Asia was […]