The historical significance of the Boston Tea Party in American history was its role as a pivotal act of rebellion against British taxation and authority. Occurring on December 16, 1773, American colonists protested the Tea Act by boarding ships in Boston Harbor and dumping 342 chests of tea into the water. This act of defiance was a response to the principle of "taxation without representation," and it fueled revolutionary sentiment among the colonies. The Boston Tea Party galvanized resistance, leading to the Intolerable Acts and contributing to the rising tensions that ultimately culminated in the American Revolution.