Boston history and significance

Boston: Paving the Way for the Future

Boston is a city with deeps ties to its historical roots, but one that constantly evolves with the times as it sees fit. It was one of the leading cities to begin the fight for the freedom of the colonies and the abolition of slavery. It is a city that has survived economic decline by transitioning from manufacturing to high technology and defense and, most recently, to healthcare and biotechnology. and, Boston has the educational and cultural foundations to inspire continued evolution for success. For all these reasons, Boston is a great place to live.

Boston was first named Shawmet by the local Algonquin tribes. William Blackstone, an English immigrant, settled in the area in 1629 and invited his friend John Winthrop and his Puritan settlers to join him a year later. Winthrop renamed Shawmut Boston after his hometown in Lincolnshire, England.

Citizenship in Massachusetts was restricted to church members until 1664. Boston became the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a major New England seaport and the largest British settlement on the continent. As a major colonial center, Boston led the way in opening the nation's older school, the Boston Latin School in 1635 and the first post office in 1639 as well as chartering the colonie's first bank in 1674 and the publishing to the nation's first long-running newspaper, the Boston News-Letter in 1704.

Boston was also a pioneer in opposing British rule. Protests over the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Acts of 1767 led to the Boston Massacre in 1770. In 1773, Samuel Adams and supporters participated in the Boston Tea Party to protest the Tea Act of 1773. Later in 1775, the Minutemen fought British troops who were intent on seizing weapons stockpiled in Concord, just west of Boston. With warnings from Paul Revere and William Dawes, the Minutemen were well prepared to win what would become the first battle of the American Revolutionary War.

Following the Revolution, Boston became more ethnically and religiously diverse. Most notably, in the mid-1880s when Boston manufacturing expanded, the city saw an influx of Irish peasants seeking refuge from the potato famines in Ireland who sought work in Boston's factories and on the wharves. Boston was the home of the New England Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1832 and, by the Civil War, Boston was the center of the Abolitionist Movement and a stop on the Underground Railroad, which aided escaping slaves.

Boston's manufacturing declined during the first decade of the 20th century, but was replaced with the development of service industries, banking and finance, and retailing and wholesaling. As early as the 1950's, Boston was emerging as a leader in the nacent computer and high-tech industries. The city enjoyed success in these industries until the late 1980s when these industries would also begin to falter. Even so, Boston reinvented itself again, this time leading the way in healthcare and biotechnology.

Boston and its surrounding suburbs make it the leading center of higher education in the United States. The number of universities is extraordinary. The two largest universities directly within the city are Boston University and Northeastern University. Other Boston suburban schools include Boston College, Brandeis University, Emmanuel College, Emerson College, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Simmons College, Suffolk University, Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts, and Wellesley College. On the positive city, students at these universities keep the atmosphere in Boston young and invigorating relative to stodgier New England areas. However, Bostonians have a tendency to place too much emphasis on where you went to school before focusing on who you are as an individual and what you have to offer. This bias permeates throughout social circles and businesses seeking qualified job applicants. Yet, Boston's strong economy accommodates growth for anyone who is motivated to succeed.

Culturally, Boston is no New York. but, for a city of 600,000, great cultural activities are available without the burden of dealing with an overwhelmingly large city.

The city's numerous theaters include the Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston Opera House, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, Schubert Theater, and the Orpheum Theater. Performing arts groups are some of the best to be found in the country and include the Boston Ballet, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Boston Lyric Opera Company, and the Handel and Haydn Society. Free summer concerts on the Charles River Esplanade are a joy with excellent acoustics and a festive atmosphere. Boston also has several fine museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Museum of Science.