The Boston Tea Party protest against British tea taxation took place in 1773.
On December 16, 1773, colonists in Boston boarded ships and dumped tea belonging to the British East India Company into Boston Harbor. The protest targeted the Tea Act of 1773, which gave the company commercial advantages while preserving a tax on tea entering the colonies.
Many colonists objected to taxation imposed by a Parliament in which they had no elected representatives. Protesters also feared that the Tea Act would strengthen the company’s position and encourage acceptance of Parliament’s authority over colonial taxation. The destruction of the tea was dramatic, but participants generally tried to avoid stealing the cargo or damaging the ships.
Britain responded with the Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by many colonists. These measures restricted Massachusetts self-government and closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for. The backlash helped lead to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and intensified the political crisis that preceded the Revolutionary War.