Boston Tea Party: Colonists Dump 342 Chests of Tea into the Harbor
Sons of Liberty disguised as American Indians boarded ships and dumped East India Company tea chests into Boston Harbor, defying the Tea Act. This direct action forced Parliament to pass the Coercive Acts, which ended local self-government in Massachusetts and closed Boston's commerce, sparking the First Continental Congress and igniting the Radical War.
December 16, 1773
253 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on December 16
The law professors of Constantinople opened two new books and discovered 1,500 years of legal arguments had just been declared obsolete. Justinian's commission …
The most powerful man in Francia died with a succession plan that lasted about five minutes. Pepin of Herstal had united the Frankish kingdoms through thirty ye…
An Lushan commanded 164,000 troops when he declared himself emperor at Yanjing — not against the Tang emperor he'd charmed for years, but against Chancellor Yan…
Octavian, Sohn des einflussreichen Fürsten Alberich II. von Spoleto, wird als Johannes XII. Nachfolger des verstorbenen Papstes Agapitus II.
l'encyclopédiste italien Cecco d'Ascoli, condamné par l'Inquisition, est contraint de quitter Bologne.
Emperor Go-Kameyama surrendered the Imperial Regalia to his rival, Go-Komatsu, ending the sixty-year schism between the Northern and Southern Courts of Japan. T…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.