The "Boston Tea Party"

A law passed in 1773 said that only the East India Company could sell tea in America. The Americans hated this law. They said that they should be free to buy tea from anyone. One night in December 1773, a band of men dressed as Mohawk Indians climbed aboard three ships in Boston harbour. They found the cargoes of tea, and tipped them into the sea. This was the famous "Boston Tea Party". Soon after, the British passed a law saying that the port of Boston was closed until the tea was paid for.

Walter Robson: Britain 1750 – 1900; Oxford University Press, 1993/2002, page 13