The significant event involving the throwing of tea into Boston Harbor is known as the Boston Tea Party, which took place on December 16, 1773. This act of protest was orchestrated by American colonists, frustrated with British taxation without representation, particularly the Tea Act, which granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. Disguised as Native Americans, colonists boarded ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor as a bold statement against British authority. The Boston Tea Party escalated tensions between Britain and the American colonies, ultimately contributing to the American Revolution.