On this day, December the 16th, in the year of 1773, the Boston Tea Party, an event which saw American colonists throw British Tea into the Boston Harbor, occurred.

As the British imposed taxes on the American colonies and the colonists had no say in the matter, the colonists began to be displeased with these arrangements, crying “taxation without representation”. And as these calls for representation were not met, the colonists became more active in their attempts.

The British eventually repealed their taxes on goods for the colonists, except for tea. 

To protest this, a group founded by merchants to protest taxation without representation, the Sons of Liberty, disguised themselves as Native Americans, boarded multiple ships in the Boston Harbor, and threw 342 crates of tea overboard, around a million dollars worth of tea in today’s money.

In response to the Boston Tea Party, King George III of England imposed the Coercive Acts (also known as the Intolerable Acts), which did such things as closing the Boston Harbor, implementing near Martial Law in Massachusetts, and allowing British Soldiers to stay in anyone’s home.

In response to that, delegates from the twelve of the thirteen colonies (expect Georgia) meet Philadelphia to discuss what they were going to do, coming to the conclusion the best path for the colonies to follow is to independence (Massachusetts Historical Society) (History)

To read more daily facts and tidbits and about the American Revolution, see the Barron Perspectives “On this Day Archives” webpage and such articles as “On This Day – October 19th (Revolutionary War)” and “On This Day – November 25th (Evacuation Day)”.