Question

How did the colonists react to the passage of the tea act of $1773$?
$a)$ They tarred and feathered the stamp inspectors.
\[b)\] they drank only tea that had been smuggled in from Holland.
$c)$They called for the revocation of the royal charter of Massachusetts.
$d)$They began cultivating coffee since they could no longer drink tea.
$e)$They called for delegates from all the colonies to meet in Philadelphia.

Answer 1

Hint: Tea act of $1773$ was an act enacted by the British parliament to reduce the stocks of tea of the British East India company which were held in warehouses of London. Through this act, the British parliament granted East India Company the right to sell its tea directly to colonies.

Complete answer:
At that time, the people of the colonies were boycotting tea coming from Britain because the tax was levied on that tea. The people were protesting against the taxes levied by the British government. Their pint was no taxation without representation.
Through the tea act of 1773, the Company’s tea became even cheaper than smuggled tea as the company wanted to reduce its stocks.
The British government has thought that colonists will get attracted towards cheaper tea on which Townsend duties were already imposed, thereby acceptance of the right to taxation by the British government. But colonists didn’t get attracted to the low price of tea. Hence, colonists boycotted the tea of East India Company and in the backdrop of this also happened the Boston Tea Party event where some locals boarded the ships carrying tea of East India Company and threw cargoes of tea directly into the sea.
On the other hand, in reaction to the Boston Tea Party event, the British parliament enacted 4 acts which were collectively called intolerable acts in order to punish colonists.
The Boston port was also closed and martial law was imposed in the area.
Finally, in September 1774, delegates from various colonies met in Philadelphia to consider the reaction to be given to the British government’s acts.
So, the correct answer is Option B.

Note: Stamp inspections have been tarred and feathered by colonists in the backdrop of reaction to the stamp act of 1765. Colonists have started consuming smuggled tea even before this act. Cultivation of coffee was also not adopted as the climate is not suitable for coffee cultivation. Hence, In this way, all other options are eliminated and we got the right answer.