On December 16th, 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place. It was a political protest against the Tea Act of 1773, which gave the British East India Company a monopoly on the sale of tea in the American colonies. A group of colonists disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and boarded three ships in Boston Harbor, dumping 342 chests of tea into the water. This event is considered to be one of the most important events leading up to the American Revolution.