The story behind the Boston Tea Party - Ben Labaree

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

翻译人员: Gabriella Hu 校对人员: Kaiwen Li

You've probably heard of the Boston Tea Party,

你们大概都听说过波士顿倾茶事件

something about a bunch of angry colonists

关于一群愤怒的殖民地居民

dressed as Native Americans

打扮成印第安人

throwing chests of tea into the water.

将一箱箱茶叶倒入港口内的故事

But the story is far more complicated,

但是这个事件的背后更加复杂

filled with imperial intrigue,

充满了帝国阴谋

corporate crisis,

组织危机

smuggling,

走私

and the grassroots origins of the American Revolution.

同时也是美国独立战争的起源

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

关于这个倾茶事件，你首先要知道的是，茶叶在18世纪

is that it was really, really popular.

非常流行

In England, each man, woman, and child

在英国，几乎每个男人、女人甚至是小孩

consumed almost 300 cups of this stuff every year.

每年都要喝将近300杯茶

And, since the English colonized America,

自从美国成为英殖民地后

Americans were crazy about tea too.

当地人民也非常爱好喝茶

By the 1760's, they were drinking

到1760年的时候，他们每年都要喝

over a million pounds of tea every year.

超过一百万磅重的茶叶

So, when Britain wanted to increase taxes

因此，当英国想在北美殖民地

on tea in America,

提高茶叶税的时候，

people were not happy,

当地人民表示强烈反对

mostly because they had no say in tax decisions

主要原因是由于北美殖民地人民在英国政府的减税决议中

made in London.

没有发言权

还记得那个著名的句子吗？

Remember that famous phrase,

"No taxation without representation"?

“在国会没有代表，就没有义务缴税”

The American colonists had long believed

北美殖民地的人民一直认为

that they were not subject to taxes imposed by legislature

由于他们在国会中没有代表，

in which they lacked representation.

也就不受制于英国国会颁布的税法

In fact, rather than paying the taxes,

实际上，相较于缴税

they simply dodged the tax collectors.

他们只是仅仅在躲避税收员

Since the east coast of America is hundreds of miles long

由于美国东海岸有数百英里长

and British enforcement was lax,

英国对殖民地的统治较为松懈

about 3/4 of the tea Americans were drinking

当地人民喝的茶叶中，大约有3/4

was smuggled in, usually from Holland.

都是走私的，其中大部分来自于荷兰

But the British insisted that Parliament

但是英国坚持认为国会

did have the authority to tax the colonists,

有权对殖民地收税

especially after Britain went deeply into debt

尤其是英国结束与法国的“七年战争”后

fighting the French in the Seven Years' War.

面临严重的军费负担，在这种情况下，

To close the budget gap,

为了填补预算缺口，

London looked to Americans,

英国将视线转移到了北美殖民地

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

1767年，英国开始对许多进口物资进行征税

including the American's beloved tea.

其中，包括北美殖民地人民最喜爱的茶叶

America's response: no thanks!

对此，当地人民的回复是：别管闲事！

They boycotted the importation of tea from Britain,

他们开始抵制从英国进口过来的茶叶

and instead, brewed their own.

并且坚持使用自己的茶叶

After a new bunch of British customs commissioners

在一群英国海关专员

cried to London for troops to help with tax enforcement,

向英国当局控诉，希望政府加强税收执行力后

things got so heated

事情开始升级

that the Red Coats fired on a mob in Boston,

驻扎在波士顿的英军向进行抗议的一群当地民众开枪，

killing several people,

结果数人死亡，

in what was soon called the Boston Massacre.

这就是美国历史上著名的“波士顿惨案”

Out of the terms of the 1773 Tea Act,

在1773年有关茶叶税法的条例后，

Parliament cooked up a new strategy.

英国国会通过了一个新的法案

Now the East India Company would sell the surplus tea

即东印度公司可以直接到北美殖民地销售积压茶叶（免缴高额的进口关税，只征收轻微茶税）

directly through hand-picked consignees in America.

通过挑选过的承销人

This would lower the price to consumers,

这项条例无疑降低了进口茶叶的价格

making British tea competitive with the smuggled variety

英国茶叶与走私茶叶相比，也显得更有竞争力

while retaining some of the taxes.

同时保留一部分税

But the colonists saw through the British ploy

这项条例引起了北美殖民地人民的强烈不满

and cried, "Monopoly!"

他们认为这是一种“垄断”

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

于是，在1773年12月16日，一个寒冷多雨的日子

About 5,000 Bostonians are crowded

大约有5000名波士顿人民涌入

into the Old South Meeting House,

老南聚会所（当地一座教堂，重要的聚会场所）

waiting to hear whether new shipments of tea

看这个满载茶叶的船

that have arrived down the harbor

是否会抵达港口

will be unloaded for sale.

卸货并进行出售

When the captain of one of those ships reported

当其中一名船长说

that he could not leave with his cargo on board,

他不能丢下他船上的货物时，

Sam Adams rose to shout,

Sam Adams开始高呼，

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

这个会议不能拯救我们的国家！

Cries of "Boston Harbor a teapot tonight!"

“今夜就让波士顿成为一个茶壶港！”

rang out from the crowd,

人群中开始跟着呐喊

and about 50 men,

接着大约有50个男子，

some apparently dressed as Native Americans,

有一些装扮成印第安人，

marched down to Griffin's Wharf,

朝着格里芬码头游去

stormed aboard three ships,

登上了三艘茶船，

and threw 340 tea chests overboard.

将东印度公司的约340箱茶叶全部倾倒入海

An infuriated British government responsded

波士顿倾茶事件激怒了英国政府

with the so-called Coercive Acts of 1774,

1774年，英国议会通过了一系列惩罚性的条令

which, among other things,

其中包括

closed the port of Boston until the locals compensated

关闭波士顿港口，直到当地人民赔偿

the East India Company for the tea.

东印度公司茶叶损失

That never happened.

当然，北美殖民地人民坚决不同意

Representatives of the colonies

殖民地的代表们

gathered at Philadelphia to consider

在费城召开集会，商讨

how best to respond to continued British oppression.

如何以最好的方式来持续应对英国的压迫

This first Continental Congress supported destruction of the tea,

召开的第一届大陆会议认为要销毁茶叶

pledged to support a continued boycott,

并且要持续进行对英货的抵制

and went home in late October 1774

随后，在1774年10月下旬，

even more united in their determination

更多的北美殖民地人民团结起来

to protect their rights and liberties.

支持他们的决定声称要维护自己的权利和自由

The Boston Tea Party began a chain reaction

波士顿倾茶事件引起了一系列连锁反应

that led with little pause

接踵而至的就是

to the Declaration of Independence

北美独立战争

and a bloody rebellion,

和一场血腥的叛乱，

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

从此以后，人民可以自由地，

相对和平地喝茶了。

more or less, in peace.