History of Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Bay contains the largest city in New England, Boston, which is located on a hilly peninsula. The Shawmut peninsula, so named by the Massachusetts tribe of Native Americans, had inhabited the area since at least 2400 B.C. More information on the geography of Boston can be found here.
During 1614, Captain John Smith embarked on an exploration of the coastline that he later designated "New England" in an effort to entice settlers. Over fifty percent of the Native Americans residing in the area died within a few years due to the smallpox that European explorers introduced.
In 1630, a fleet of ships helmed by Puritans departed England for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The group quickly merged with the Pilgrims' Plymouth Colony, situated in Cape Cod Bay, approximately 40 miles to the south, under the leadership of John Winthrop.
Originally called Tremontaine in reference to the three hills that comprised the region, the Puritans subsequently renamed the settlement Boston, in honor of the English town of Lincolnshire, from which a significant number of Puritans originated. Harvard University and Boston Latin School, where Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams studied, had been founded in the 1630s.
In spite of the importance that Boston's Puritans attributed to education and religion, they were not tolerant: believing in the Quaker faith was punishable by death or imprisonment, Christmas celebrations were prohibited, and in 1643, the city welcomed the first slave ship into Boston Harbor.
Tensions escalated between English governors and Boston colonists as the latter experienced growth and prosperity, particularly in the wake of the Molasses Act of 1733, a British enactment that imposed a tax on molasses, an essential import for Boston rum manufacturers. Soon thereafter, clergymen and politicians in the city cried out, "No taxation without representation!"
Anger against the British peaked following the Boston Massacre of 1770, in which British troops opened fire on a mob of colonists, resulting in the deaths of five individuals. The Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea Party in response to the Tea Act of 1773, which taxed imported tea. An estimated 45 tons of tea were dumped into Boston Harbor during the event.
Numerous pivotal events of the American Revolutionary War transpired in close proximity to Boston, such as the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Ride of Paul Revere, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. The city celebrated the British withdrawal from Boston in 1776, which brought an end to the Siege of Boston.
Massachusetts, long a hub of the abolitionist movement and the location of William Lloyd Garrison, was the first state in the Union to abolish slavery. Boston continued to expand throughout the nineteenth century. Irish immigrants flocked to Boston in an attempt to escape the Potato Famine; later, Italian, Eastern European, Chinese, and other nationalities joined them. The first Boston Marathon took place in 1897.
Early in the 20th century, Boston experienced a period of decline due to the abandonment of older factories in favor of more modern manufacturing facilities and inexpensive labor elsewhere. The Boston Red Sox's main field, Fenway Park, was inaugurated in 1912. The "Curse of the Bambino" appeared to haunt the city, as it began 86 years after Babe Ruth was transferred to the New York Yankees in 1918 and the Boston Red Sox failed to win the World Series. The opening date of Logan International Airport was September 8, 1923. In November 1928, the Boston Bruins played their inaugural game at Boston Garden after being established in 1924.
Twenty-one people were killed the following year in Boston's North End during the Great Molasses Flood, which was caused by the explosion of a massive tank filled with the sugary, sticky substance. The Cocoanut Grove Fire of 1942 was one of the most lethal nightclub disasters in human history, claiming the lives of 492 individuals.
The Great Brinks Robbery of 1950 occurred at the Brinks Armored Car Depot in Boston, where criminals stole in excess of $2 million. Citywide racial unrest ensued in 1974 in response to court-ordered school busing. An unsolved crime occurred in 1990 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, resulting in the theft of several of its most valuable artworks.
The Boston Marathon Bombing of 2013 claimed the lives of three spectators. Notwithstanding these obstacles, the city has established itself as a thriving and cosmopolitan epicenter of technology, education, and medical research in the twenty-first century, boasting an approximate population of 4.7 million within the greater Boston region.