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Tensions rose in London and Boston.
緊張在倫敦和波士頓蔓延。
Parliament did eventually repeal the stamp duty, but still the Americans boycotted British goods.
議會最終廢除了印花稅，但北美人依舊聯(lián)合抵制英貨。
Parliament put troops on the streets of Boston to keep order. The Americans assaulted and abused them.
議會在波士頓街頭布置軍隊維持秩序。北美人攻擊并辱罵他們。
Then, in one notorious incident, the tormented Redcoats opened fire before the State House.
在一次臭名昭著的事件中，英軍不堪其擾，在議會大廈前開火。
Five Bostonians were left dead on the street.
五名波士頓人橫尸街頭。
Shocked by the killings, over the next three years, both sides let things calm down.
在死亡的震懾下，之后的三年內(nèi)，雙方都把事件平息下來。
Eventually, the British dropped all their taxes expect one, that on tea.
最終，英政府取消了所有稅收，只留下一項，茶稅。
The import duty had been lowered to sweeten the cup.
東印度公司的茶稅被大幅削減以傾銷茶葉。
The government supposed no one would notice the tax. Well, they noticed.
政府以為沒人會注意到。但是他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了。
The ships carrying the tea duly arrived in Boston. Unloading them meant paying the import duty.
茶船如期抵達波士頓港。卸貨意味著要支付進口稅。
On the night of December 16, 1773, the largest hall in Boston was filled to capacity with people listening orators
1773年12月16日晚，波士頓最大的禮堂里擠得滿滿的，人們聆聽演說家們的警告，
warning that to bring the tea ashore, much less to brew it, was to swallow slavery along with a cuppa.
不要把茶葉運上岸，更不要泡了喝，而要用茶給英國的奴役陪葬。
At a pre-arranged signal, the doors burst open and a group of patriots, dressed in blankets as Mohawk Indians, urged the crowd to storm the ships.
在事先安排好的信號下，門被猛然打開，一群偽裝成莫霍克印第安人的愛國者鼓勵群眾們洗劫貨船。
About 30 to 60 of our Mohawks, with their faces all blackened up, blankets still in place, climbed aboard with lanterns.
大約30到60個"莫霍克人"臉上全部涂黑，還披著毯子，提著燈爬上船。
They used hatchets, which they called, of course, tomahawks, to break open the chests and poured the stuff straight into the water.
他們用短柄斧，他們稱之為戰(zhàn)斧，砸開箱子，把茶葉全部倒入大海。
For those who knew, and of course the leaders of the patriot campaign were very shrewd about this, understood that it was indeed an incredibly fateful moment.
知情人們和愛國運動的領(lǐng)袖都清醒地知道，這是真正決定性的時刻。
John Adams said: "This was the most magnificent moment of all, that I cannot but call it an epoch in history." How right he was.
約翰·亞當(dāng)斯說，“這是最壯麗的時刻，我不得不稱其為歷史的新紀(jì)元?！贝搜圆患佟?/div>
To punish Boston, the British now closed its port, galvanising all of the American colonies to come to the distressed city's aid.
為了懲罰波士頓，英政府關(guān)閉了其港口，而英國在美洲的所有殖民地都紛紛向波士頓伸出了援手。
Cartloads of food came from colonies north and south.
周圍的殖民地紛紛運來食物進行支援。
George Washington declared: The cause of Boston now is, and ever will be, the cause of America.
喬治·華盛頓宣稱：波士頓的利益現(xiàn)在是，將來也是美利堅的利益。
And yet, still, there was hesitation on the brink of catastrophe. Few wanted irrevocable divorce from the motherland.
即便如此，民心仍在風(fēng)暴邊緣猶豫不決。幾乎沒有人想同祖國徹底決裂。
