<P> Governor Hutchinson refused to grant permission for Dartmouth to leave without paying the duty . Two more tea ships , Eleanor and Beaver , arrived in Boston Harbor ( there was another tea ship headed for Boston , William , but it encountered a storm and put aground at Cape Code - where the tea cargo was successfully landed - before it could reach its destination ) . On December 16 -- the last day of Dartmouth 's deadline -- about 7,000 people had gathered around the Old South Meeting House . After receiving a report that Governor Hutchinson had again refused to let the ships leave , Adams announced that `` This meeting can do nothing further to save the country . '' According to a popular story , Adams 's statement was a prearranged signal for the `` tea party '' to begin . However , this claim did not appear in print until nearly a century after the event , in a biography of Adams written by his great - grandson , who apparently misinterpreted the evidence . According to eyewitness accounts , people did not leave the meeting until ten or fifteen minutes after Adams 's alleged `` signal '' , and Adams in fact tried to stop people from leaving because the meeting was not yet over . </P>
<P> Governor Hutchinson refused to grant permission for Dartmouth to leave without paying the duty . Two more tea ships , Eleanor and Beaver , arrived in Boston Harbor ( there was another tea ship headed for Boston , William , but it encountered a storm and put aground at Cape Code - where the tea cargo was successfully landed - before it could reach its destination ) . On December 16 -- the last day of Dartmouth 's deadline -- about 7,000 people had gathered around the Old South Meeting House . After receiving a report that Governor Hutchinson had again refused to let the ships leave , Adams announced that `` This meeting can do nothing further to save the country . '' According to a popular story , Adams 's statement was a prearranged signal for the `` tea party '' to begin . However , this claim did not appear in print until nearly a century after the event , in a biography of Adams written by his great - grandson , who apparently misinterpreted the evidence . According to eyewitness accounts , people did not leave the meeting until ten or fifteen minutes after Adams 's alleged `` signal '' , and Adams in fact tried to stop people from leaving because the meeting was not yet over . </P>
who gave the signal for the boston tea party
who gave the signal for the boston tea party
Adams
Adams