On what date did the Boston Tea Party take place, protesting British taxation and colonial policy?

The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. Protesters in Boston boarded ships and dumped East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.

The protest followed Britain’s Tea Act of 1773, which allowed the East India Company to sell tea cheaply in the colonies while retaining a tax that many colonists opposed. The issue also raised questions about Parliament’s authority over people who lacked elected representation there.

Members of the Sons of Liberty organized the action, and many participants disguised themselves as Native Americans. They destroyed hundreds of chests of tea but generally avoided damaging the ships or stealing other cargo.

Britain responded with the Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by many colonists. These measures intensified resistance and helped lead to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and the outbreak of war in 1775.