On what date did the Boston Tea Party take place before American independence?

The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773.

That night, members of the Sons of Liberty boarded tea ships in Boston Harbor and destroyed a large shipment by throwing tea chests into the water. The protest opposed British taxation and the Tea Act, especially the principle that colonists were being taxed without elected representation in Parliament.

The event occurred more than two years before the Declaration of Independence. Britain responded with the Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by many American colonists, which punished Massachusetts and intensified resistance throughout the colonies.

Popular retellings sometimes simplify the event by saying all participants were Native Americans. In fact, the protesters disguised themselves, and historical evidence identifies the participants as colonists associated with the Sons of Liberty. Estimates commonly place the tea destroyed at about 340 or 342 chests, depending on the source.