Boston Tea Party and the Mohawk disguises

On December 16, 1773, colonists boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped an estimated 342 chests of tea into the water to protest the Tea Act. Participants in the Boston Tea Party disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, a detail recorded in contemporary accounts and commemorated by the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum interpretation. The event took place in the area now represented by the museum and helped escalate tensions that led to the American Revolution.