AF101

American Facts 101

History and civics

Glossary term

Boston Tea Party

1773 protest in which colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to oppose British taxes.

Historical context

The Boston Tea Party was an act of protest on December 16, 1773 during the American Revolution. Initiated by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, one of the Thirteen Colonies of British America, it escalated hostilities between Great Britain and the Patriots, who opposed British policy towards its American colonies.