Boston Tea Party

In the year 1773, there was a lot of tension between the American colonies and Britain. Britain was trying to control the colonies, but the people of the colonies were fighting British control. The British passed a Tea Act, which they felt would force the colonists to buy their tea. The British sold the tea at a very cheap price so they could also collect a tax on it. Ships loaded with tea were sent across the Atlantic to the American ports.

When three ships filled with tea arrived in Boston Harbor, the colonists demanded that the colonial governor send the ships back. The governor refused. That night, a group of men disguised as Native Americans boarded the ships and threw all 342 chests of tea overboard. Thousands of people gathered along the shore to watch and cheered the protestors on. This famous event became known as the Boston Tea Party.

King George III was furious. He passed a law to punish the people of Boston for dumping the tea. This punishment only increased the hostility between Britain and the colonies. The British continued trying to tighten control, and the colonists continued to resist. The Boston Tea Party was one of the key events that led to the American Revolutionary War.