In 1773 the British parliment passed the Tea Act. The Tea Act was designed to help the East India Company which was in financial trouble. Most tea at this time over 80 per cent was smuggled tea from the Dutch. Parliment allowed the East India Company to import and export tea tax free in England but imposed a tea tax on the colonists. Colonists objected to this new tax as the price of tea went up. One result was the Boston Tea Party where colonists dressed as indians in Boston boarded and English ship and dumped the cargo of tea overboard.
