The 240th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party gave me an excuse to do something on this iconic moment in American history. A timeline down the right side shows how the event fit into the bigger picture of the colonists' dissatisfaction with Mother England. I went with a old (copyright free) woodcut image, despite the inaccuracy: The cases of tea weighed 400 pounds each, so I doubt many of the participants actually held the crates over their heads to toss them overboard. Believe it or not, I got calls from readers who thought I was trying to make some kind of left-wing political point with this page. Guess it's easier to call and complain than to actually read the page. Monday, Dec. 16, 2013.