Answer the following questions briefly

Point out the significance of “the Boston Tea Party”.

i) The British Finance Minister, Charles Townshend, had passed the Townshend Acts in 1767, increasing the import rates for American colonies. This led to widespread protest in Boston.

ii) While these acts were later withdrawn following the Boston Massacre, the tax on tea was kept to support the East India Company.

iii) This led to resentment amongst the Americans, and hence, they decided to drown entire shipments of tea into the sea.

iv) This was the boiling point for the colder revolt between the colonists and the British. The major significance of the Boston Tea Party was that it started the American War of Independence.