The British eventually withdrew their power from Boston and repealed many of the tough Townsend laws. But they left the tea tax in place and passed a new law, the Tea Act, in 1773 to support the financially struggling British East India Company. The act gave the company expanded favorable treatment under tax regulations so that American merchants importing from Dutch merchants could sell tea at a price that lowered its price. This did not bode well for the Americans. "They didn't want the English to be told they had to have their tea, but it wasn't just about that," Randall explains.
