apr 27, 1773 - Tea Act of 1773

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Colonists were drinking smuggled Dutch tea instead of British East India tea because high import duties on tea made East India Company tea more expensive and less popular, so the company was in debt. As part of this act, the British government gave the company a loan and cancelled the import duty, making British tea cheaper than Dutch tea. Some of the colonists accused the government of trying to bribe them into giving up their opposition to the taxes through the cheaper tea. The Sons of Liberty protested by dumping tons of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor and blocked their ships, and Britain passed the Coercive Acts as a result.

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