The Sons of Liberty was a secret organization of American Patriots which originate in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution. British authorities and their supporters known as Loyalists considered the Sons of Liberty as seditious rebels, referring to them as "Sons of Violence" and "Sons of Iniquity." Patriots attacked the apparatus and symbols of British authority and power such as property of the gentry, Customs officers, East India Company tea, and as the war approached, vocal supporters of the Crown.