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Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

Road to Revolution: The Body of the People

At a series of mass meetings, beginning on November 29th, radicals made demands that the consignees appear, resign, and agree to return the tea to England.

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“Friends! Brethren! Countrymen! The Hour of Destruction of Manly Opposition to the Machinations of Tyranny stares you in the Face,”

- Notice of a protest meeting at Faneuil Hall, November, 1773

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The Old South Meeting House

After an overflow crowd strained Faneuil Hall, meetings were conducted at the Old South Meeting House with attendance reported at over 5,000 (perhaps exaggerated). Using the term “Body of the People” radicals created an extra legal assembly that would not have the potential financial liability of an official town meeting.

Old South Meeting House, gathering place of the “Body of the People.” - National Park Service
Old South Meeting House, gathering place of the “Body of the People.”
-  National Park Service
The “standing” capacity of the Old South Meeting House is estimated at 650 today. Overcrowded and surrounded by protesters, it attracted many more in 1773. Daderot
The “standing” capacity of the Old South Meeting House is estimated at 650 today. Overcrowded and surrounded by protesters, it attracted many more in 1773.
- Daderot

Francis Rotch and the ship Dartmouth

The first tea ship to enter Boston Harbor was not owned by Boston merchants.
The Rotch family, Nantucket Quakers, were involved in the whaling industry. Their ship Dartmouth had made a voyage to London carrying whale oil and returned with a shipment of East India Company tea for the consignees. Twenty-three year old Francis Rotch represented the family and courageously attended meetings of the Body of the People.

In 1767 the Dartmouth became the first ship to be built in New Bedford. Its ochre paint, common but not universal for merchant ships, reflected the subdued taste of its Quaker owners. Shortly after the Tea Party the ship was lost on a 1774 voyage to London. . - Courtesy of New Bedford Whaling Museum
In 1767 the Dartmouth became the first ship to be built in New Bedford. Its ochre paint, common but not universal for merchant ships, reflected the subdued taste of its Quaker owners. Shortly after the Tea Party the ship was lost on a 1774 voyage to London. .
- Courtesy of New Bedford Whaling Museum
African-American poet Phillis Wheatley. Library of Congress
African-American poet Phillis Wheatley.
- Library of Congress

The Rotch Family and Phillis Wheatley
Like many Quakers the Rotch’s opposed slavery. Phillis Wheatley wrote a poem eulogizing one family member. During the 19th century the wealthy Rotch family relocated most activities to New Bedford and was active in the abolitionist movement.