Final answer:
The conditions in the English colonies that led to the Boston Tea Party were primarily related to taxation and trade policies imposed by the British government. The Tea Act of 1773 allowed the British East India Company to sell its tea to the colonies without paying taxes, making it cheaper than tea sold by local colonial merchants. This angered the colonists, who viewed it as a violation of their rights and a way for the British to exert control over their economy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The conditions in the English colonies that led to the Boston Tea Party were primarily related to taxation and trade policies imposed by the British government. The Tea Act of 1773 allowed the British East India Company to sell its tea to the colonies without paying taxes, making it cheaper than tea sold by local colonial merchants. This angered the colonists, who viewed it as a violation of their rights and a way for the British to exert control over their economy.
The Boston Tea Party itself was a direct response to the Tea Act. On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists, disguised as Native Americans, boarded the tea ships docked in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 containers of tea into the water. This act of protest was meant to symbolize the colonists' resistance to British taxation without representation.
The British government, angered by the Boston Tea Party, responded with a series of harsh measures known as the Intolerable Acts. These acts were intended to punish Massachusetts and bring the colonies into line. They included closing the port of Boston, limiting colonial self-governance, and quartering British soldiers in colonists' homes.