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THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE BOSTON TEA PARTY:
or If You Like To Have Coffee Thank The Freemasons.
Part 2
In Part 1 we saw that the Tea Act was imposed upon the colonies at the whim of the British government. The back story to this is that the British East India Company was going bankrupt. London had warehouses full of tea that wasn't selling. The British Parliament decided to lower the price of tea and lower the tea tax and that the colonists would be happy to buy the cheaper tea. They thought that this would bolster the East India Company and help pay for the French and Indian war. The American colonist saw through this ruse. At that time tea was the preferred drink of the colonies. It wasn't about the price of tea they objected to, it was being taxed for something had no representation in.

The Green Dragon Tavern near the Boston wharf had a square and compass over the front door and a copper figurine of a dragon that had turned green from the salt air in the harbor. It was purchased by St. Andrews lodge in 1764. Downstairs was the tavern and upstairs was where St. Andrews lodge and the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (Ancients) met.

To tell this story correctly we have to understand who are the players. Politically there were three types of colonists: Loyalist (also know as Tories, Royalist, or King's Men), Patriots (also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs), and fence sitters (people not committed to either side); the Freemasons of St. Andrews lodge and their Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (Ancients) Dr. Joseph Warren Grand Master, Paul Revere Senior Grand Deacon. Both are Past Masters of the St. Andrews Lodge and Brother John Hancock; the Freemasons of St. John's Lodge and their Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (Moderns) that met upstairs over the Bunch of Grapes Tavern, Brother John Rowe Grand Master; the Sons of Liberty, whose primary function was to report on British troop movements and harass British officials; the Governor of Boston Thomas Hutchinson and sons; the Consignees of the Tea (tax collectors); the three tea ships, Beaver, Dartmouth and Eleanor.

We can never know what really happened in the past. History has an imperfect memory. Therefore, while I would like to include all the details of the story, I have to remind myself that I am writing a blog not a book and keep the narrative to be about the Freemasons as much as possible. Some historians credit the Sons of Liberty for the Tea party and other historians credit the Freemasons. Actually both are correct, many of the "Sons" were Freemasons including Brothers Paul Revere and John Hancock.

In Part 3 we will relive the dumping of the tea and the aftermath imposed on the colonists by the British crown.
To be continued…

Sincerely & Fraternally,Bro. Wilhelm B. Offenwright — Sincerely & Fraternally,
Bro. Wilhelm B. Offenwright