Boston Tea Party (1773) - commemorated at Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

On December 16, 1773 colonists protesting British taxation boarded ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor in an event known as the Boston Tea Party. The original Griffin's Wharf location lies within present-day downtown Boston; the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum on Congress Street interprets and reenacts the event for visitors. The incident escalated tensions between the colonies and Great Britain and is widely cited as a catalyst on the path to the American Revolution.