William Pitt the Younger The National Portrait Gallery, London
Tea was highly coveted - and expensive - in 18th century
England. The tax on it alone eventually capped out at 119%!!!
Its cost was so high that people sometimes bought tea from
smugglers. Many of the tea merchants who refused to get involved
went out of business. "Adulteration" of tea (adding filler
ingredients like ash leaves) was also known to happen. Because
green tea was easier to adulterate, black tea became popular. In
1783, at age 24, William Pitt the Younger took office as
Britain’s youngest Prime Minister. His new government’s first
order of business was to investigate taxation. He met regularly
with tea merchants like Richard Twining to address the issue.
Tune in tomorrow to see what happened. (Purchase the William
Pitt print here)