The Boston Tea Party was a protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. American Patriots strongly opposed the taxes in the Townshend Act as a violation of their rights. Some disguised as Native Americans, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company. They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution.
