Final answer:
The Boston Tea Party serves as a historical example of civil disobedience, where the colonists protested the Tea Act of 1773 by dumping tea into Boston Harbor to resist British taxation without representation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Boston Tea Party is an iconic example of civil disobedience, a form of protest in which individuals nonviolently refuse to obey certain laws or demands of a government as an act of political resistance. This historic event took place on December 16, 1773, when a group of colonists, frustrated by British taxes and lack of representation, disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. They were protesting the Tea Act, which granted the British East India Company a monopoly on the tea trade and imposed taxes on colonial tea that the colonists had no say in. This act of defiance was part of a broader series of events that escalated tensions between Great Britain and the colonies, ultimately leading to the American Revolution.
The Sons of Liberty played a crucial role in coordinating these resistance efforts. Despite previous boycotts and protests against various taxes, the Tea Act struck a particular nerve. British tea ships were forced to return without unloading their cargo or were met with colonial resistance by having the tea locked away or destroyed, as in the case of Boston. The British reaction to the Boston Tea Party was to pass the Intolerable Acts, punitive measures to reassert control over the colonies. These acts further inflamed colonists' desire for independence, setting the groundwork for the Revolutionary War.