Question

What event, carried out by American colonists in 1773, involved the dumping of tea into Boston Harbor as a protest against the British Tea Act?

1) Boston Tea Party
2) Declaration of Independence
3) Battle of Lexington
4) Stamp Act Congress

Answer 1

The event in question is the Boston Tea Party, which occurred on December 16, 1773, as a protest against the British Tea Act, where colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

Step-by-step explanation:

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party, a significant event in American history, took place on December 16, 1773. This act of defiance was in direct protest against the British Tea Act of the same year. American colonists, some disguised as Indigenous peoples, boarded vessels in Boston Harbor and disposed of 342 chests of tea into the frigid waters. The Tea Act had granted the East India Company a monopoly over the colonial tea trade, which effectively undercut local merchants and imposed taxes on the colonists without their consent, a condition famously summarized as 'no taxation without representation.'

Suffering a significant financial loss equivalent to over $1 million in today's money, the British government reacted swiftly and harshly with punitive measures known as the Intolerable Acts. These acts further incensed the colonists, pushing them closer to the path of revolution and the pursuit of independence from British rule.

The correct answer to the student's question is: 1) Boston Tea Party.