The Boston Tea Party in 1773 protested against the Tea Act imposed by the British government. This act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, undermining local merchants and continuing the imposition of taxation without representation. Dressed as Mohawk Indians to conceal their identities, American colonists boarded ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water as a direct challenge to British authority. The event escalated tensions between the colonies and Great Britain, ultimately contributing to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War as colonists rallied against perceived injustices.