[1] The Boston Tea Party was a protest that occurred in Boston during the buildup to the American Revolution. [2] The event was provoked by a period of tense relations between Britain and the British colonies that would eventually become the United States. [3] The colonists were angry that they had to pay taxes on items they imported from Britain, like tea, without having representatives in British government to voice their opinions and vote on whether or not to levy such taxes. [4]
This was the issue summarized by the now-famous phrase, `No taxation without representation.` [5] If people don't pay their taxes today, it is a crime called tax evasion, and they can get in big trouble with the government and go to jail. [6] Taxed tea was sent back to Britain in many colonies as a form of protest, but in
Boston, the Governor refused to return the tea. [7] In response, Bostonians boarded a ship carrying taxable tea and dumped it into the harbor on December 16th,
1773. [8] Britain responded by tightening control of the colonies, but eventually, the country fought its colonies directly in the American Revolution after they declared independence.