The Gaspee incident, is the name of the event in which on June 9th-10th of 1772 the HMS Gaspee, a British schooner was torched by several men commanded by Jhon Brown and Abraham Whipple in Warwick, Rhode Island. This was the response of several measures taken by the British,in which heavy taxes were imposed to the colonies, which ended in the revolution.
For the British side, it can be said that a country has full and legitimate control over its colonies, as they are part of the territory, hence, taxation is a sovereign right, as well as it is that of the control over the trade.