The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was a pivotal protest against British taxation without representation. Colonists, frustrated with the Tea Act that granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales, boarded three British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The outcome was the imposition of punitive measures by the British government, including the Intolerable Acts, which further escalated tensions between the colonists and Britain. The protest galvanized American opposition to British rule and ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, as it demonstrated the colonists' willingness to resist unjust laws.