The Boston Tea Party is referred to as a 'tea party' because it involved the act of protesters disguised as Native Americans, known as the Sons of Liberty, throwing crates of British tea into the Boston Harbor. The primary purpose of the protest was to protest the Tea Act imposed by the British government, which granted a monopoly to the East India Company and imposed taxes on tea. The term 'tea party' is used to describe this event owing to the focus on the destruction of tea crates and the symbolic act of resistance against British taxation policies.
