The Historic Rhode Island Protest That Occurred Before The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was one of early America's greatest acts of defiance... but it wasn't the first. Rhode Island actually had its own version of a tea party that rarely gets talked about outside of New England. And looking back, the Gaspee Affair was a significant event leading up to the American Revolution.

Back in 1772, the HMS Gaspee, a British customs schooner, was enforcing the Navigation Acts in and around Newport.

This was a pretty common occurrence for these times, but this ship was particularly annoying to the locals.

The Gaspee's crew was known for boarding and searching colonists’ vessels in search of smuggled goods at an overbearing rate.

They even searched the little packet boats, which were typically left alone.

By June 9, 1772, those early Rhode Islanders had had enough.

They were especially offended by commander, Lt. William Dudingston, who was known for being arrogant and aggressive.

On that June evening, after the crew of the Gaspee had once again gone too far, a man sitting in a rowboat near the ship realized he had a perfect shot of Lt. William Dudingston. He took it.

Dudingston was shot and wounded, and the Americans took it upon themselves to burn the ship to the waterline to convey their message.

Needless to say, this escalated America's tensions with Great Britain quite a bit.

The British called for the apprehension and trial of the people responsible for shooting Dudingston and burning the ship. But mysteriously, every man involved had an alibi for that evening, and no one would volunteer any information. So no trial was held.

Some say the events of that night set the Revolutionary War in motion.

But really, it was a link in a chain of events that led to America's initial act of rebellion.

Rhode Island may be a small state, but it's got a long list of fascinating local history. We're even home to the oldest tavern in the country.