Britain's response to the Boston Tea Party in 1773 was swift and punitive. The British government enacted the Coercive Acts, known in America as the Intolerable Acts, to punish Massachusetts and assert British authority. These measures included closing Boston Harbor until the dumped tea was paid for and altering the Massachusetts charter, effectively reducing self-governance. The British aimed to re-establish control and deter other colonies from similar acts of defiance. However, these punitive actions ultimately incited further colonial unrest and galvanized opposition against British rule, contributing significantly to the onset of the American Revolutionary War.