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On this day in 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place

December 16, 2023

|Recurring Event (See all)

An event every year that begins at 12:00 am on day 16 of December, repeating indefinitely

On this day in 1773, the Boston Tea Party occurred as American colonists protested the Tea Act and British “taxation without representation” by dumping over 45 tons of tea into Boston Harbor. That’s right – tons. The tea was worth over $1,000,000 in today’s currency.

The event served as a catalyst for increased tensions between Britain and the American colonies. In retaliation, Parliament and the King soon passed the “Intolerable Acts” which closed Boston Harbor, removed the local government from power in Massachusetts, and required the quartering of British troops in colonists’ homes.

Did you know? Though supportive of the patriot cause, neither Benjamin Franklin nor George Washington was happy with the destruction of private property and Franklin urged that the East India Company be reimbursed.

The Boston Tea Party didn’t gain its name until the 1820s when it was referred to as such in the obituary of one of its participants.

Americans throwing Cargoes of the Tea Ships into the River, at Boston, W.D. Cooper, 1789

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Date:
December 16, 2023
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