Student Article

The Boston Tea Party, a pivotal act of defiance against British colonial rule, took place on December 16, 1773, when a group of colonists destroyed 46 tons of British tea in Boston Harbor.

The start of rebellion

The Tea Act, passed earlier that year, allowed the East India Company to sell tea directly to the American colonies, bypassing colonial merchants and granting the company a monopoly on the tea trade. This move angered colonists who saw it as an infringement on their rights, especially since they had no representation in the British Parliament to voice their concerns. The protest was not only about tea but also about the broader issue of "No taxation without representation."

A protest for freedom

On that night, around 100 members of the Sons of Liberty, a group dedicated to resisting British policies, boarded three ships — the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver — at Griffin’s Wharf. They dumped all the tea into the harbor, sending a strong message to Britain that the colonists would no longer tolerate oppressive taxation and corporate monopolies. The protest was part of a growing wave of resistance across the 13 American colonies, many of which had already been protesting other taxes like the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts.

British retaliation and the path to revolution

In response, the British government enacted the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, which punished Massachusetts by closing Boston's port and limiting local government powers. These harsh measures only strengthened the resolve of the colonists, uniting them against Britain. The Boston Tea Party became one of the most significant events in the buildup to the American Revolution, signaling the colonists’ determination to fight for independence.

© Elinor Evans / www.historyextra.com