Which three ships were targeted during the 1773 Boston Tea Party?

The three ships targeted during the Boston Tea Party were Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver.

All three vessels carried East India Company tea that had been shipped to Boston. Colonial protesters wanted the tea returned without payment of the disputed tax, but Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to allow the ships to leave without unloading the cargo and paying duties.

On the night of December 16, 1773, participants boarded the ships and threw hundreds of tea chests into Boston Harbor. The Dartmouth had arrived first, while the Eleanor and Beaver arrived later. The event involved organized destruction of property rather than a random riot.

The protest prompted Parliament to pass the Coercive Acts, which restricted Massachusetts self-government and closed Boston Harbor until compensation was made. Those measures intensified colonial resistance and contributed to the formation of the revolutionary crisis that erupted into war in 1775.