The Boston Tea Party was the 1773 protest against British taxation that became a prelude to the Revolution commemorated by America250.
On December 16, 1773, colonists in Boston boarded ships and threw chests of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor. They were protesting the Tea Act, which gave the company advantages in selling tea while leaving a tax on the product. The protest expressed opposition to taxation imposed without colonial representation in Parliament.
Participants tried to destroy only the tea and avoided damaging the ships or stealing other goods. British authorities responded with the Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by many colonists, which punished Massachusetts and tightened imperial control.
The protest did not immediately declare independence. Instead, it intensified tensions, encouraged colonial cooperation, and helped lead to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and armed conflict in 1775.