In Johnny Tremain, why did the British insist on the tea tax and why were they surprised by the colonists' reaction?

Esther Forbes uses the character of Johnny Tremain to create a historical fiction account of the initial causes of the Revolutionary War.

Although Johnny Tremain is fictional, he does meet Paul Revere, who warned Americans about the impending arrival of British troops.

British colonists resented the fact that the British could tax them without Parliamentary representation.

However, the British still taxed tea, which angered colonists and led to the famous Boston Tea Party which Johnny Tremain participates in.

Johnny Tremain is one of the apprentices who observes Tories in hopes of getting information back to the Whigs.

Tories felt that things with England would resolve themselves over time.

After the Tea Party, many residents lost their livelihood, and Esther Forbes is conveying to children what liberty costs.

How does Johnny Tremain depict the British taxing Colonial tea?

England taxed tea, and the Americans responded with the Boston Tea Party by throwing the tea into the harbor.

Johnny Tremain tells the story of America in the days leading up to the Revolutionary War.  Young Johnny begins as an apprentice silversmith, but an injury to his hand leads him to seek other employment.  Before he knows it, he finds himself following the revolutionary leanings of some of his former customers.

Chapter 6 begins with a comment on the Tea Act from the British point of view, saying England had gone far in “adjusting to the grievances” of the colonies.

But she insisted upon a small tax on tea.  Little money would be collected by this tax.  It worked no hardship on the people’s pocketbooks: only threepence the pound. (Ch. 6)

The biggest problem, as Britain was well aware of, is that the “stubborn colonists” did not like to be taxed “unless they could vote for them men who taxed them.”  As the slogan went, they were not in favor of taxation without representation.  This tax was known as the Tea Act, and was just one of many hated unfair taxes.

While the Chapter indicates that the East India Trading Company received the brunt of the tax, the truth is that a tax on tea was a difficulty for struggling colonists.  Many of them used a lot of tea.  I guess it was time to drink coffee instead!

The solution, Johnny saw, was for a number of revolutionary-learning colonists to dress up like Indians and throw the tea in the harbor as an act of defiance to the mother country.  Not only did this waste the tea and hurt the East India Trading Company, cutting into their profits, it prevented England from collecting the hated tax from the Tea Act.

What is the British tax on colonial tea and how do Sam Adams and the Observers plan to respond in Johnny Tremain?

The British were taxing everything at this point, and the colonists were getting very angry about it.  This is what led to the famous Tea Party protest.  Adams and the Observers club communicate with like-minded citizens who are interested in fighting back through the newspaper delivery.  Johnny’s role in these chapters is that he delivers the papers and the coded messages.

In chapter 6, Adams and Mr. Lorne plan a meeting to deal with the arrival of the tea.  Johnny is sent with a coded message, “Mr. So and So owes eight shillings for his newspaper,” and this lets people know that the Observers are meeting that night at eight.

Because of Johnny’s close association with John Adams and Paul Revere, he is on the inside scoop of revolutionary leanings.  He hears things, and acts as a messenger.  Thus he knows all about the Sons of Liberty and the Tea Party.