In 1773, Parliament authorized the Tea Act. Within the Tea Act, Parliament granted the East India company a monopoly (the only in a specific trade or product) over the American tea trade. Although the monopoly decreased the of tea, Americans that Parliament was only regulating American trade, and had the power interfere in American business whenever it suited them. Public protest of the Tea Act grew the . Fearing a revolt, several ships carrying tea destined for New York and Philadelphia to England without unloading tea. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, 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 of tea into the water. This event came to be known as the Boston Tea Party.