Boston Tea Party

Protest in 1773 by colonists in Massachusetts, USA, against the tea tax imposed on them by the British government before the American Revolution.

When a valuable consignment of tea (belonging to the East India Company and intended for sale in the American colonies) arrived in Boston Harbor, it was thrown overboard by a group of Bostonians disguised as American Indians during the night of 16 December 1773. The British government, angered by this and other colonial protests against British policy, took retaliatory measures in 1774, including the closing of the port of Boston.