The ship sent to Boston harbor in 1768 to enforce British taxes on the American colonies was the HMS Romney.
A 50-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy launched in 1762, the Romney was dispatched to Boston Harbor at the request of commissioners tasked with enforcing the Townshend Acts, which imposed taxes on colonial imports such as paper, glass, lead and tea exported from Britain in order to raise revenue for the crown, and to establish the precedent that the British parliament had the right to tax the colonies.
Romney's actions included impressing local sailors (that means forcing them into service), confiscating a vessel belonging to John Hancock, and providing a refuge for the unpopular commissioners enforcing the Townshend Acts when all hell broke loose, which led to the occupation of Boston by British troops in 1768, which led to the Boston Massacre, which eventually led to ... wait for it ... the Boston Tea Party, and the American Revolution.
Don't tread on me, HMS Romney.
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