The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773, in Boston, Massachusetts.
The protest opposed the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the American colonies while retaining a tax. Many colonists viewed the measure as another example of taxation without representation.
That night, members of the Sons of Liberty boarded tea ships in Boston Harbor and destroyed 340 chests of tea by throwing them into the water. The protesters disguised themselves in ways later associated with Native American identity, although the event was organized by colonial activists.
Britain responded with the Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by many colonists. These measures intensified resistance and helped create the political conditions that led to the Revolutionary War, which began in 1775. The Boston Tea Party is therefore an important prelude to the independence celebrated during America250.