On December 16, 1773, a group of Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded three British tea ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. The midnight raid, widely known as the "Boston Tea Party," was in protest of the British Parliament's Tea Act of 1773, a bill aimed at saving the foundering East India company by drastically lowering its tea tax and giving it a virtual monopoly on the American tea trade.  As if that weren't enough, the low tax even allowed the East India Company to undercut tea smuggled into America by Dutch traders, much to the consternation of the colonists.  When three tea ships arrived in Boston Harbor, the colonists demanded that the tea be returned to England. When Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to accede, Patriot leader Samuel Adams organized the "tea party" with roughly six members of his resistance group, the Sons of Liberty. The British tea dumped in Bos...

Few cities (if any) cities in the United States are as charming and rich in history as Boston. The capital and largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts boasts everything from Fenway Park, and Copley Square to Faneuil Hall and many of the country's most respected universities. Here are 19 fun facts about the city dubbed the Bay State, many of which: The city proper encompasses 48 square miles with an estimated population of 655,884 in 2014, making it the largest city in New England and the 24th largest city in the United States. The city is the cultural and economic hub of a considerably larger metropolitan area called Greater Boston, home to nearly 5 million people. Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several pivotal events of the American Revolution, including the Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Boston is home to the United States' old...

On this day in 1773, a group of Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British tea ships and dump over 300 chests of tea valued at some $18,000 into Boston Harbor. This effectively came to be known as The Boston Tea Party, a milestone event in the build up to the American Revolution. The Boston Tea Party was in protest of the British Parliament's Tea Act of 1773, a bill created to save the struggling East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and giving it a virtual monopoly on the American tea trade. When three tea ships arrived in Boston, the colonists -- which viewed the tea act as a blatant form of taxation tyranny -- demanded that the tea be returned to England. When Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson failed to budge, Patriot leader Samuel Adams organized the "tea party" with roughly 60 membets of the Sons of Liberty, his underground resistance group. Outraged by what they considered a flagrant destruction of British prope...