The Boston Tea Party marked a significant protest against British taxation, particularly the Tea Act of 1773. American colonists, frustrated with “taxation without representation,” opposed the monopoly granted to the British East India Company that enabled it to sell tea at reduced rates while underscoring their discontent with British control. On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded ships in Boston Harbor and dumped an entire shipment of tea into the water. This act of defiance escalated tensions between Britain and the colonies, ultimately contributing to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.