A Colonial Newspaper on the Boston Tea Party

As the nation prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, few surviving printed materials offer a more immediate connection to the opening chapter of the Revolution than contemporary newspapers. I am pleased to share a remarkable new addition to our collection, a rare Postscript to The Massachusetts Spy, or Thomas's Boston Journal, issued in Boston on May 5, 1774. Published less than five months after the Boston Tea Party and only weeks before Parliament enacted the Intolerable Acts, this issue captures the rapidly escalating political crisis as it unfolded on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Founded in 1770 by Isaiah Thomas and Zechariah Fowle, The Massachusetts Spy quickly became one of the most influential newspapers of Revolutionary America. While initially professing to be "open to all parties, but influenced by none," it soon emerged as one of the principal voices of the Patriot movement, circulating political intelligence and commentary throughout the colonies. By the spring of 1774, readers relied upon its issues for both local news and also for reports arriving from London. These reports revealed how British ministers, members of Parliament, and the Crown viewed the growing unrest in Massachusetts.

This May 1774 Postscript opens beneath the headline "Interesting Intelligence," announcing the arrival of the ship Minerva from London with British newspapers dated through March 15. Reprinting excerpts from several of those British publications, the Postscript presents parliamentary proceedings, ministerial discussions, royal pronouncements, and commentary concerning the destruction of the tea in Boston Harbor. For readers in Massachusetts, these reports provided critical insight into how their actions were being discussed in London and what measures Parliament and the Crown were considering in response. 

The reports reveal mounting British determination to suppress resistance in America. A March 5 dispatch noted that Britain was “getting ready several Ships of War for Sea,” with the intention “to reduce the mutinous spirit of the Americans.” A report dated March 10 declares that "the most vigorous Measures are resolved to be taken with the turbulent and refractory Colonies," including the dispatch of “Four Regiments of Foot” to Boston and “six Men of War” to block the harbor. Another commentator ominously remarked that if the colonial unrest proceeded, “the next cargo of a certain commodity may be called gun-powder tea.”

The issue also addresses the increasingly contentious question of colonial representation and governance. One British article argues that the colonies had “no reason to complain of want of Representation in the Senate.” Yet the same report acknowledges the intensity of official concern by noting that ministerial councils had been meeting nightly, “assisted in their Deliberations by the Crown Lawyers, on American Affairs.” The gravity of the crisis is underscored by a March 12 warning that “There never was, perhaps, since the Revolution, so important a crisis in the constitution of this country as the present state of American affairs,” concluding with the dramatic declaration that “no less than the FATE OF A GREAT EMPIRE, trembles on the decision.”

Particularly significant is the publication of King George III's formal message to the House of Commons regarding the Boston Tea Party. Condemning the destruction of the tea as “violent and outrageous,” the king urged Parliament to adopt measures that would restore order and strengthen imperial authority over the colonies. By reprinting this royal statement in a Boston newspaper, the Massachusetts Spy publishers gave colonial readers direct access to the specific language and intentions of the British government, at a consequential turning point in their relationship.

The newspaper also summarizes proceedings before the House of Commons and testimony concerning the Boston Tea Party itself, including reports from colonial officials and the memorable account attributed to “Mr. Rotch, the owner of Capt. Hall's vessel,” describing how “a number of men, disguised, boarded the vessels containing the Tea, and, as it said, threw the whole into sea.” 

Beyond its remarkable content, this issue stands as a testament to the enduring influence of Isaiah Thomas, whose commitment to the Patriot cause ultimately forced him to flee Boston for Worcester, where in May 1775 he published his eyewitness account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, often regarded as America's first example of war correspondence. Thomas later became one of the nation's most distinguished printers and, in 1812, founded the American Antiquarian Society, ensuring that the printed history of early America would be preserved for future generations.

As the America250 commemorations encourage renewed reflection on the origins of the American Revolution, surviving newspapers like this one offer a rare opportunity to experience the defining events of the era, through the words of those who witnessed them as they unfolded. This original contemporary account documenting the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and the mounting imperial response would be an exceptional addition to any collection devoted to the American Revolution or early American publishing.