The Boston Tea Party in 1773 marked a significant protest against British taxation without representation. American colonists, angered by the Tea Act, which granted the British East India Company the exclusive right to sell tea in the colonies, organized this defiant act. Disguised as Mohawk Indians, they boarded three British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water as a statement against colonial oppression. This event escalated tensions between the American colonies and Britain, leading to punitive measures, such as the Coercive Acts, and ultimately played a pivotal role in the drive for American independence.