Boston Tea Party.

In 1770, American protests led to Parliament's repeal of the Townshend duties. except for the duty on tea retained by the British as a matter of principle. The colonists demonstrated their displeasure with the remaining tax by drinking smuggled tea. The effectiveness of American resistance was shown in the precipitous decline in tea sales in the colonies a drop of 70 percent over three years.
In 1773 Parliament passed The Tea Act, which grant the English Company the chance to import tea into the colonies. The new regulations allowed the company to sell tea to the colonists at a low price, lower than the price of smuggled tea, even including the required duty. The British reasoned that the Americans would willingly pay the tax if they were able to pay a low price for the tea. The Tea Act required that the requisite tax be collected within 20 days of a ship’s arrival, making December 16 the deadline. A resolution was adopted that asked the customers to return the tea but they refused to. On December 16, the owner of the Dartmouth agreed to sail his ship back to England. This opportunity to ease tensions was abruptly ended, however, when British officials denied permission for the ship to clear the port and began preparations to seize the vessel for nonpayment of the tax. The ship owner expressed his inability of departing to Boston. Later a group of some 50 men, unconvincingly disguised as Mohawk Indians, moved the short distance to Griffin’s Wharf where the three ships were moored. 342 chests were split open and thrown into the harbor. A cheering crowd on the dock shouted its approval for the brewing of this “saltwater tea.”