In December, 1773, hundreds of angry Bostonians charged into the harbor at Griffin’s Wharf, and tossed over 300 chests of tea into the icy waters below. This lawlessness marked the culmination of what many Americans viewed as decades worth of oppression and exploitation by the British. Ultimately leading to the American War of Independence, this nonviolent protest has become one of the most pivotal moments in American history.

But what circumstances led to the Boston Tea Party? Why was tea such a significant symbol of oppression? And why is the Boston Tea Party considered to be the single most important catalyst for the American Revolution?

This is a Short History Of The Boston Tea Party.

Written by Lindsay Galvin. With thanks to Benjamin Carp, Professor of History at Brooklyn College, and author of ‘Defiance Of The Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America’. 

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