What 1773 event saw Boston colonists dump tea into the harbor to protest British policy?

The Boston Tea Party was the 1773 event in which Boston colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to protest British policy.

On the night of December 16, 1773, colonists boarded ships and destroyed 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company. The protest opposed the Tea Act, which allowed the company to sell tea in the colonies under favorable conditions while retaining a small tax.

Many protesters objected to taxation without colonial representation in Parliament. The demonstration was organized and supported by Patriot activists, including members of the Sons of Liberty. Participants destroyed the 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 tightened imperial control over Massachusetts and helped lead to the First Continental Congress in 1774. The Boston Tea Party was therefore not the war’s opening battle, but it was a major escalation on the road to independence.