The major cause is that the British wanted the colonies to pay the majority of the war debt from the french and Indian war. The British starting making all kinds of taxes like the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, ect. to make the colonies pay. The Boston Tea party shortly followed because the colonies were protesting this. And later, the British passed the Intolerable Act to try to prevent more protests and 'punish' the colonies.
Hope this helps!
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