The story behind the Boston Tea Party - Ben Labaree

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

Prevodilac: Andrea Jovanovic Lektor: Boško Eraković

You've probably heard of the Boston Tea Party,

Verovatno ste čuli za Bostonsku čajanku,

something about a bunch of angry colonists

nešto o gomili besnih kolonista

dressed as Native Americans

koji su, obučeni kao Indijanci,

throwing chests of tea into the water.

bacali kovčege sa čajem u vodu.

But the story is far more complicated,

Ali, priča je mnogo komplikovanija,

filled with imperial intrigue,

ispunjena imperijalnim intrigama,

corporate crisis,

korporativnim krizama,

smuggling,

krijumčarenjem

and the grassroots origins of the American Revolution.

i korenima američkog rata za nezavisnost.

The first thing you need to know about tea in the 1700's

Prva stvar koju morate da znate o čaju tokom 1700-ih jeste

is that it was really, really popular.

da je bio zaista, zaista popularan.

In England, each man, woman, and child

U Engleskoj, svaki muškarac, žena i dete,

consumed almost 300 cups of this stuff every year.

su komzumirali približno 300 šolja čaja godišnje.

And, since the English colonized America,

Pošto su Englezi kolonizovali Ameriku,

Americans were crazy about tea too.

Amerikanci su takođe bili ludi za čajem.

By the 1760's, they were drinking

Do 1760-ih, pili su

over a million pounds of tea every year.

više od 450.000 kg čaja godišnje.

So, when Britain wanted to increase taxes

Kad su Britanci hteli da povećaju poreze

on tea in America,

na čaj u Americi,

people were not happy,

ljudi su bili nezadovoljni,

mostly because they had no say in tax decisions

uglavnom jer se nisu mogli protiviti odluci

made in London.

donetoj u Londonu.

Remember that famous phrase,

Sećate li se famozne rečenice:

"No taxation without representation"?

"Nema oporezivanja bez zastupanja"?

The American colonists had long believed

Američki kolonisti su dugo mislili

that they were not subject to taxes imposed by legislature

da oni nisu subjekti oporezivanja koje legislatura nameće

in which they lacked representation.

u kojoj oni nisu ni zastupljeni.

In fact, rather than paying the taxes,

U stvari, umesto da su plaćali poreze,

they simply dodged the tax collectors.

jednostavno su varali skupljače poreza.

Since the east coast of America is hundreds of miles long

S obzirom da je istočna obala Amerike nekoliko stotina kilometara dugačka

and British enforcement was lax,

a Britanske snage su bile aljkave,

about 3/4 of the tea Americans were drinking

otprilike 3/4 čaja, koje su Amerikanci pili,

was smuggled in, usually from Holland.

bilo je prokrijumčareno uglavnom iz Holandije.

But the British insisted that Parliament

Britanci su insistirali da Parlament

did have the authority to tax the colonists,

ima vlast da oporezuje koloniste,

especially after Britain went deeply into debt

naročito kad se Britanija duboko zadužila

fighting the French in the Seven Years' War.

ratujući protiv Francuza u Sedmogodišnjem ratu.

To close the budget gap,

Da bi se nadoknadio manjak u budžetu,

London looked to Americans,

London se okrenuo prema Amerikancima,

and in 1767 imposed new taxes on a variety of imports,

i 1767. nametnuo nove poreze na razna uvozna dobra,

including the American's beloved tea.

uključujući i voljeni čaj Amerikanaca.

America's response: no thanks!

Amerikanci su odgovorili: ne, hvala!

They boycotted the importation of tea from Britain,

Bojkotovali su uvoz čaja iz Britanije

and instead, brewed their own.

i umesto toga, kuvali su svoj.

After a new bunch of British customs commissioners

Nakon što je gomila novih britanskih carinskih komesara

cried to London for troops to help with tax enforcement,

molila London da pošalje vojsku da im pomogne oko uterivanja poreza,

things got so heated

dešavanja su se zahuktala do te mere

that the Red Coats fired on a mob in Boston,

da su Crveni Mundiri pucali na masu u Bostonu,

killing several people,

ubivši nekoliko ljudi,

in what was soon called the Boston Massacre.

tokom događaja koji je ubrzo nazvan Bostonski Masakr.

Out of the terms of the 1773 Tea Act,

Van odredaba Zakona o čaju iz 1773.,

Parliament cooked up a new strategy.

Parlament je skovao novu strategiju.

Now the East India Company would sell the surplus tea

Istočnoindijska kompanija bi prodala višak čaja

directly through hand-picked consignees in America.

direktno pažljivo izabranim primaocima u Americi.

This would lower the price to consumers,

Ovaj potez bi smanjio cenu potrošačima

making British tea competitive with the smuggled variety

i učinio britanski čaj konkurentnim prokrijumčarenom čaju

while retaining some of the taxes.

a zadržao bi i deo poreza.

But the colonists saw through the British ploy

Ali kolonisti su prozreli britansku nameru

and cried, "Monopoly!"

i uzvikivali su: "Monopol!"

Now it's a cold and rainy December 16, 1773.

Hladan, kišni 16. decembar 1773. godine.

About 5,000 Bostonians are crowded

Otprilike 5.000 bostonaca se okupilo

into the Old South Meeting House,

u "Old South Meeting House",

waiting to hear whether new shipments of tea

čekajući da čuju da li će nove isporuke čaja

that have arrived down the harbor

koje su stizale u luku

will be unloaded for sale.

biti istovarene za prodaju.

When the captain of one of those ships reported

Kad je kapetan jednog od takvih brodova javio

that he could not leave with his cargo on board,

da ne može da krene sa svojim tovarom na brodu,

Sam Adams rose to shout,

Sem Adams je uzviknuo:

"This meeting can do no more to save the country!"

"Ovaj sastanak ne može ništa više da učini da spase državu!"

Cries of "Boston Harbor a teapot tonight!"

Povici "Bostonska luka je večeras čajnik!"

rang out from the crowd,

odjekivali su iz gomile

and about 50 men,

i otprilike 50 muškaraca,

some apparently dressed as Native Americans,

neki od njih obučeni kao Indijanci,

marched down to Griffin's Wharf,

odmarširali su do "Griffin's Wharf"

stormed aboard three ships,

na juriš zauzeli tri broda

and threw 340 tea chests overboard.

i bacili 340 kovčega čaja sa palube u vodu.

An infuriated British government responsded

Besna britanska vlast je odgovorila

with the so-called Coercive Acts of 1774,

donošenjem tzv. Nepodnošljivih zakona 1774.,

which, among other things,

koji su, između ostalog,

closed the port of Boston until the locals compensated

zatvorili bostonsku luku sve dok lokalno stanovništvo

the East India Company for the tea.

nije nadoknadilo Istočnoindijskoj kompaniji za čaj.

That never happened.

To se nikada nije dogodilo.

Representatives of the colonies

Predstavnici kolonija

gathered at Philadelphia to consider

su se okupili u Filadelfiji da razmotre

how best to respond to continued British oppression.

kako je najbolje da reaguju na britansko ugnjetavanje.

This first Continental Congress supported destruction of the tea,

Učesnici Prvog Kontinentalnog Kongresa su podržali uništavanje čaja,

pledged to support a continued boycott,

obećali su da će podržati trajan bojkot

and went home in late October 1774

i otišli kući krajem oktobra 1774.

even more united in their determination

još više jedinstveni u nastojanju

to protect their rights and liberties.

da zaštite svoja prava i slobode.

The Boston Tea Party began a chain reaction

Bostonska čajanka je pokrenula lančanu reakciju

that led with little pause

koja je sa kratkom pauzom dovela do

to the Declaration of Independence

Deklaracije o nezavisnosti

and a bloody rebellion,

i krvavog ustanka,

after which the new nation was free to drink its tea,

nakon kojeg je novo društvo bilo slobodno da pije svoj čaj

more or less, in peace.

manje-više, u miru.