two bostons
The coat of arms of Boston, Lincolnshire (top image) also appears on a gate to the Massachusetts State House. Photo: John Morrison
The tale of two Bostons
Their histories are intertwined: Boston, Massachusetts, and its namesake, the medieval town of Boston, in Lincolnshire, England. Named Boston by the Massachusetts general court on September 7, 1630, the new settlement reflected its origins in name, people, and ethos.
Boston, Lincolnshire, and surrounding villages formed a Puritan stronghold. When discussions began about the possibility of a New England colony, Boston leaders were among them. Boston minister John Cotton traveled to Massachusetts soon after, as did Anne Hutchinson. The story of the two Bostons is that of a radical Puritan vision as it unfolded in what was, for them, a new land.
Find out more from these articles by Francis J. Bremer, award-winning author of many books on the Puritan migration, English Puritan communities, New England, and John Winthrop, and by Neil Wright, a leading historian of Boston, Lincolnshire, and author of Boston: A History and Celebration. Their presentations can also be found, here.
On Pentucket/Pawtucket homelands. A traditional wetu, constructed for educational purposes, in Ipswich, MA. Wetuash can also be found on tribal lands, where they are used for ceremonies. ©Sandra Matthews 2017
BEFORE BOSTON
For many people, Boston begins in 1630, and the landmark signs dotted around the Boston Common and elsewhere endorse this misconception.
In fact, long before the founding of the colonial town, the Shawmut peninsula was the land of the Massachusett people. For more than 13,000 years Native people have lived in New England, establishing a way of life in harmony with nature, with sophisticated diplomatic relations between Tribes and Nations across the region. Colonist Roger Williams’ Key Into the Language describes a flourishing and vibrant Native society in today’s Rhode Island.
But between smallpox and other epidemics, and the devastation of colonial wars, tens of thousands of Indigenous people in the Eastern Woodlands lost their lives, communities and land from what Indigenous people now call an occupation. By some estimates, up to 90% of the Massachusett people perished in the first third of the 17th century from what was probably smallpox. Across the region, no Tribe was left untouched.
The Pequot War of 1636-1638 and King Philip’s War in 1675-1676 added to the destruction. The Puritans enslaved captives, sending some to the Caribbean; thousands died. More lost their land and sovereignty to make way for colonial expansion.
This history has been almost routinely misrepresented in traditional accounts of 17th century New England. The sign below, one of a series of 275 markers written by the Harvard historian Samuel Eliot Morison, notes that Hatfield was “attacked by Indians during King Philip’s War,” a wording that ignores the fact that King Philip’s War was the conflict during which the English took decisive control of Indigenous lands, as photographer Sandra Matthew writes. A new, rust-free Hatfield sign was erected in 2019 with the same wording.
Yet despite both the assault on Indigenous lives and sovereignty and the stubborn persistence of traditional narratives, Native people of the Eastern Woodlands are still here. More than 94,000 people of Indigenous descent live in Massachusetts today. Watch important presentations by Margaret Newell, Mack Scott, Lorén Spears, David Brule and others to learn more about this vital but often erased history. You can also find reading suggestions on our Resources page.
“More than fascinating – it shifted my understanding.”
- audience member, ‘I Pledge Allegiance”: Sovereignty and Sanctuary in the Dawnland
On Nipmuc and Pocumtuck homelands. Hatfield, also known as Capawonk. ©Sandra Matthews 2019