The Tea Act
The Act was created to help support the East India Company, which was financially troubled. The Act allowed the Company to directly distribute the Tea to the colonies, eliminating the need for some merchants and cutting into others' business. Many merchants and artisan stopped the tea from landing and harassed the consignees. This culminated in the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston against the tax policy of the British government and the East India company. All colonists felt the Tea Act violated their rights of no "taxation without representation," but the Sons took action. On December 16th,1773, a group of colonists, many dressed up as Native Americans boarded British ships and destroyed the tea on board by throwing it into the Boston Harbor. This lead to the Parliament passing the Intolerable acts, building even more tension between the colonies and Britain.