Boston Tea Party

The British Parliament passed the Tea Act in 1773 which allowed The British East India Company to sell tea directly to shopkeepers and not to merchants who normally distributed the tea. Colonial merchants called for a boycott. Despite warnings, the British East India Company continued to ship tea to a number of colonial cities. On December 16, a group of men dressed as Mohawks boarded the ships at midnight. They threw 342 chests of tea overboard.