The significance of the Boston Tea Party in the American Revolution lies in its role as a pivotal act of defiance against British taxation without representation. On December 16, 1773, American colonists, frustrated by the Tea Act, which imposed taxes on tea while granting a monopoly to the British East India Company, boarded ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. This protest galvanized public support for independence and spurred further acts of resistance. It demonstrated the tensions between colonists and British authorities and set the stage for the escalating conflict that led to the Revolutionary War.