USA - The Patriots of Boston

The story of Boston is a fascinating tale of settlers taking on the unknown in a strange land, the struggle for control by a superpower of the day, followed by the daring of the few to enable the forging of a newly independent nation for the many.

The foundation of the Plymouth colony in 1620 by the Pilgrims of the Mayflower soon paved the way for further expeditions such as the Puritan fleet of John Winthrop, who finally settled on a location on the Shawmut Peninsula on the 7th September of 1630.

With the land deeded to the Puritans by the local Chickatawbut native Indian tribe for a small sum of money, the initial colony of seven hundred people was named Boston, after the Lincolnshire town where many had originated.

On the establishment of the colony, fifty acres were given to William Blaxton, who had been living in the area before their arrival but was later sold back and today is known as Boston Common.

In the early years, life was hard with two hundred dying over the first winter, others returning to England while some moved to other colonies. But with guts and determination, the first church, cemeteries, and schools were established under the leadership of John Winthrop.

By the 1670s the population had grown to four thousand with fishing and shipbuilding being prominent. The withdrawal of the Massachusetts Bay charter saw the end of self-rule, replaced by a new charter in 1691 designed to consolidate the colonies on the eastern seaboard.

The Old State House built-in 1713

The introduction of the Molasses tax of 1733 was effectively the first time an act from England had made a significant impact on the local population, while outbreaks of smallpox, an earthquake, and the destruction of 349 buildings by fire, added to the woes of the colony.

The power struggle of the Seven Year War between the French and British to rule this part of North America may have been won by the British, but the accumulation of debt led to the introduction of further taxes in various guises. The swell of discontent was now on the rise with tax evasion common, leading the British to dispatch four thousand soldiers as a show of force, this was never going to end well.

The "Boston Massacre" site outside the Old State House.

Much is made of a confrontation between a local mob and a group of soldiers resulted in five Bostonians being killed on what would be known as “The Boston Massacre”. Seemingly caused initially by a minor disagreement or act, this was just one of several events that fuelled the tension of the day. Boston was now leading the way in the talk of a possible American revolution amongst its Patriots.

The infamous Tea tax would lead to the universally titled “Boston Tea Party” in 1773 with 342 chests of tea dumped into the harbour by patriots dressed as Indian Mohawks. British retaliation in the form of the “The Coercive Acts” would see direct British control of Massachusetts under the Governorship of General Thomas Gage.

Fully aware of the revolutionaries, Gage was convinced munitions had been hidden at Concord, so dispatched troops to search. On the 19th April 1775, Patriot riders were sent out to warn of the movement of British troops with two lanterns hung from the Old North Church.

Paul Revere’s name would now be enshrined in American history.

The following day would see the first official fighting at Lexington and Concord as the British searched for stores of arms and would be the first battle of the American Revolution.

The Bunker Hill monument

As the other colonies rallied to support the Bostonians, the British were trapped within the city. On the 18th June 1775, the battle of Bunker Hill would see an attempt by the British to try and take back control, however, the losses on both sides were high.

After eleven months the city was liberated on the 17th March 1776 after a British evacuation. By July of that year, the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted.

Today the excellent Freedom trail takes you past many of the key sites of the story as well as the USS Constitution (also known as the Old Ironside), the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat, launched in 1797.

Below deck on the USS Constitution