In 1773, Parliament authorized the Tea Act. Within the Tea Act, Parliament granted the East India company a monopoly (the only buisness in a specific trade or product) over the American tea trade. Although the monopoly decreased the prise of tea, Americans realizes that Parliament was only regulating American trade, and had the power two interfere in American business whenever it suited them. Public protest of the Tea Act grew quickley threw the colonys. Fearing a revolt, several ships carrying tea destined for New York and Philadelphia returns to England without unloading tea. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, planed to show Parliament how they felt about the Tea Act. They boarded the British ship Dartmouth docked in Boston Harbor, dressed up as Indians, and dumped the entire lode of tea into the water. This event came to be known as the Boston Tea Party.