Why did people throw tea on the ship into the water?

People threw tea into the water during the Boston Tea Party as a protest against British taxation without representation. The American colonists were frustrated by the Tea Act of 1773, which granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies and imposed taxes. The act was seen as an infringement on their rights, leading to the symbolic act of dumping 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, as a statement of defiance against British rule.