What was the Boston Tea Party?
The Boston Tea Party was a protest on December 16, 1773, when American colonists dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose a tax imposed without their consent.
In 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act, which helped the struggling British East India Company sell tea in the colonies. Many colonists objected to paying any tax set by a Parliament in which they had no representatives, summed up in the slogan no taxation without representation.
On the night of December 16, a group of colonists, some loosely disguised as Mohawk people, boarded three ships at Griffin's Wharf. Over about three hours, they broke open the chests and threw the tea into the harbor. The tea would be worth around 1.7 million dollars today.
What happened next
Britain responded in 1774 with harsh laws that colonists called the Intolerable Acts, including closing Boston's port until the tea was paid for. These measures united the colonies against Britain and helped lead to the American Revolutionary War, which began in 1775.
Did You Know?
The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum in Boston includes replica ships where visitors can throw boxes of tea into the harbor.