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250 Years Ago … Siege of Boston

Following the battles at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, colonial forces from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island formed a New England army to surround and contain the British forces occupying Boston.

The Siege of Boston was essentially a containment of British forces in Boston laid out by the American militia, later known as the Continental Army on the British held Boston.

Sara Winslow Deming’s journal notes the British were anticipating something, it states, in part (Massachusetts Historical Society),

“On Saterday, ye 15th April [1775] P.M. I had a visit from Mr. Barron. I never saw him with such a countenance. He affected a smiling countenance when he came in. I was glad to see him as ever — I pointed him to a chair, & seated myself, he rose & took the next chair by me, saying “permit me to set by you.”

“I try’d to affect an ease I did not feel, & I tho’t, & still think, that he did the same.  Soon however, a gloom spread over his countenance, — after a short silence, he told me, (I have since recolected, somewhat officeously,) that “the light Infantry, & all the Grenidier Companies were drafted from all the reg.rs & were ordered to be ready to attend whatever duty they might be called to at a minutes warning, & you know I am one.”

“And are you ready? Yes. After another short silence, he proceeded, unasked, to tell me many things tho’ I have since tho’t that he would have given direct answers to any questions I might have ask’d, so far as he was let into their secrets – but I ask’d no question of consequence.”

“Several times I saw him catch in his handkerchief the tears that fell from his eyes. Sometimes, there was a silence of several minutes together, both before & after Mr. Deming came in. It was evident, that his soul labor’d under some heavy pressure.”

“Once with very little introduction, he said, ‘I advise you as a friend to stay in Boston – I think it will be the safest place.’”

Following these skirmishes, British forces under General Thomas Gage garrisoned at Boston, Massachusetts Bay. Subsequently, the American militia surrounded the area in an attempt to contain the British forces. Hence, the siege of Boston started on April 19, 1775.

Sara Winslow Deming’s journal notes, in part (Massachusetts Historical Society), “Early on Wednesday the fatal 19th April, before I had quited my chamber, one after another came runing up to tell me that the kings troops had fired upon & killed 8 of our neighbors at Lexington in their way to Concord.”

“All the intelligence of this day was dreadfull. Almost every countenance expressing anxiety & distress. But description fails here.  I went to bed about 12 this night having taken but little food thro’ the day; having resolv’d to quit the town before the next setting sun, should life, & limbs be spar’d to me.”

“Towards morning, I fell into a sound sleep from which I was waked by Mr. D.g between 6, & 7 o clock informing me that I was Genl Gage’s prisoner — all egress, & regress being cut off between the town & country.”

“Here again description fails. No words can paint my distress — I feel it at this instant (just 8 weeks after) so sensibly, that I must pause before I can proceed.”

A May 6, 1775 letter from John Andrews to William Barrel describes some of the initial impacts to the residents of Boston at the time of the Siege (Massachusetts Historical Society), “You’ll observe by this, that I am yet in Boston, & here like to remain — three of us charterd a vessell a fortnight since to convey us to Halifax as Sam dont think your city Safe by any means,”

“but the absolute refusal of the Governor to Suffer any merchandize to be carried out the town, had determd me to Stay & take care of my effects, together wth the perswasion of Saml & his wife & Ruthy –“

“the latter being perfectly willing & desirous of going without me, as her peace of mind depends entirely upon his leaving the town; in concequence of which have acquiesed, but am affraid it will be a long time before I Shall See her again, if ever.”

“near half the inhabitants have left the town already, & another quarter, at least, have been waiting for a week past with earnest expectation of getting Passes, which have been dealt out very Sparingly of late, not above two or three procur’d of a day, & those with the greatest difficulty.”

“its a fortnight yesterday Since the communication between the town & country was Stop’d, of concequence our eyes have not been bless’d with either vegetables or fresh provisions, how long we Shall continue in this wretched State – God only knows –“

“but that no more blood may be Shed is the earnest wish & prayer of your affectionate friend & Brother.”  Jno. Andrews

After that, the course of the siege was littered with small skirmishes and nothing substantial occurred until May 21. The British forces learned that they needed hay for their horses. Hence Gage ordered an expedition to go to Grape Island and bring back hay to Boston.

The Continentals, however, spotted the troops and called for the militia. At first, the armies engaged in shooting over a long distance, but the militia was able to get their hands on a sloop and sailed to Grape island. Once on land, they set fire to the hay barn and essentially destroyed about 80 tons of hay. Consequently, the Continentals cleared out the cattle, sheep and hay from the islands around Boston.

On June 13, 1775, the leaders of the Continental Army learned that the British forces were planning to fortify the nearby unoccupied hills.

This in turn would give them control of the Boston Harbor. Subsequently, the American forces under the command of Colonel William Prescott immediately occupied the hills.

On June 17, 1775, the British forces learned that the Americans had occupied the hills and they launched an attack against them. The battle came to be known as the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Most of the battle took place on an adjacent hill which later came to be known as ‘Breed’s hill’. Even though the British forces were victorious in battle, they suffered heavy casualties.

Following the Battle of Bunker Hill, the siege of Boston essentially became a stalemate, with both sides hesitant to attack.

The Continental Congress formed the new Continental Army on June 14 and General George Washington was named its commander-in-chief on June 15, 1775.

In early July 1775, General George Washington arrived in Cambridge to take charge of the newly established Continental Army. He had the objective of removing the British forces from Boston. To achieve this he worked to fortify the troops and organize the militia into an army.

Subsequently, in October 1775, General Thomas Gage was replaced by General William Howe as commander of the British forces.

Over the course of the siege, both armies had to deal with a harsh winter which resulted in a lack of resources and personnel issues.  The winter brought an array of problems for both sides.

The Americans were facing a severe shortage of gunpowder. So much so that the soldiers were handed spears to fight with instead of guns in an event of a British attack. On the other hand, the British forces were facing a huge shortage of wood.

Washington wanted to break the ongoing stalemate. However, to achieve this he needed artillery. In November 1775, he ordered Colonel Henry Knox to bring back artillery captured at Fort Ticonderoga. Knox successfully transported more than 60 tons of captured armament from Fort Ticonderoga back to Boston. These supplies also included more than 55 cannons and they reached Boston by late January 1776.

On February 16 and 18 Washington once again tried to convince his generals to launch an attack against the British troops. However, he received the same answer as before. This was because his generals feared that they had lesser manpower and gunpowder than the British forces.

Moreover, instead of going offensive, they believed that it would be better to take over Dorchester Heights once they had sufficient firepower. In their opinion, this would force the British forces to come out of Boston and off of Noddle’s island and then they would be in the open.

Finally, on March 2, 1776, the Continental Army placed some of the cannons in fortification around Boston. They then bombarded the British forces for two days straight. The artillery was strategically placed at Lechmere Point, Cobble Hill in Cambridge, and Lamb’s Dam in Roxbury.

On the night of March 4, 1776, the Continental Army led by General John Thomas marched to Dorchester Heights and fortified it with the artillery. By morning, they had the artillery pointed towards the Boston Harbor and the city.

Fortification of the heights south of Boston began on the night of March 4 and 5, 1776.  On the other side of Boston, in Cambridge, guns bombarded the British-held town as a diversion. Over the next week, the stronghold grew in size and strength.

William Cheever notes in his diary (Massachusetts Historical Society),

5th. [March 1776] Last Night & this morning a very incessant Fireing from 1/2 past 7 in the even’g ’till 6 this morning: without much damage & this day at noon, Gen’l Howe notified that all Persons who intended to follow the Army should give in their names, as he must withdraw his Troops.

The British forces first decided to go on the offensive but soon realized its futility as their cannons could not reach the American forces stationed at a height. Howe then sent troops to dislodge the Continental Army’s guns from Dorchester Heights but a snowstorm hit Boston and that attack never materialized.

The British forces accepted defeat and on March 7.  The siege began on April 19, 1775, and went on for 11-months, following which the British forces left the region and sailed to Nova Scotia. The siege of Boston finally ended on March 17, 1776.

Click the following link to a general summary about the Siege of Boston:

Click to access Siege-of-Boston.pdf

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

250 Years Ago … Shot Heard Round the World

British victory in the Seven Years War (1756-63) sowed the seeds of the American revolt. It freed the colonists from the need for protection against the French threat on their frontier. It also gave free rein to the forces working for independence.

The British wanted to increase taxes and make the colonies pay for their defense. The colonists argued that only their own assemblies, and not the British parliament, had a right to levy taxes. (British National Army Museum)

In 1775 there were about 7,000 British redcoats in America, with around 4,000 in Massachusetts itself.  The royally appointed governor, Thomas Gage, had been granted broadly expanded powers.

Rebellion was in the air.

Acting on intelligence that the militia were stockpiling weapons, Gage ordered British Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Smith to march to Concord and seize the arms.  Smith commanded the 800-strong force, drawn from several regiments, that was sent to seize the arms. An officer with 12 years’ colonial experience, Smith had served in America since 1767.

The rebel intelligence network suggested that the British aim in Lexington was to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two of the most prominent Patriot leaders, but the size of the British army force was large enough to suggest they had bigger goals in mind.

The British soldiers and rebel militiamen raced to Lexington during the night; they confronted each other at Lexington Green – a village common area – just as the sun was rising on the morning of April 19. Captain John Parker, a veteran of the Seven Years’ War, led a contingent of 80 Lexington militiamen, known as minute men because they had to be ready to fight at a minute’s notice.

Most of the militiamen were farmers or tradesmen.  Non-uniformed, they were armed with a variety of firearms including muskets and fowling pieces. (British National Army Museum)

Years later, one of the participants recalled Parker’s words right before the deadly skirmish: “Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”

On April 19, 1775, initial skirmishes between British regulars and American Patriots marked the beginning of the American Revolution.

… at 5 o’clock we arrived there and saw a number of People, I believe between 2 and 300 … we still continued advancing, keeping prepared against an attack tho’ without intending to attack them …

… they fired one or two shots, upon which our Men without any orders rushed in upon them, fired and put ‘em to flight; several of them were killed.  (Diary of Lt. John Barker, Library of Congress)

 It is unclear who fired the first shot.

A skirmish ensued, during which eight militiamen were killed and only one British soldier wounded.

After order was restored, the British soldiers began the march to Concord, where militias from Concord and the nearby town of Lincoln were waiting. After the British found and destroyed rebel weapons caches, they squared off against the colonial forces at the North Bridge. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the British soldiers broke rank and fled, handing the stunned colonists a victory. (Khan Academy)

The march back to Boston was a genuine ordeal for the British, with Americans continually firing on them from behind roadside houses, barns, trees, and stone walls. This experience established guerrilla warfare as the colonists’ best defense strategy against the British.

Total losses were British 273, American 95. The Battles of Lexington and Concord confirmed the alienation between the majority of colonists and the mother country, and it roused New Englanders to join forces and begin the Siege of Boston, resulting in its evacuation by the British the following March.  (Britannica)

Within a week, 16,000 men from the four New England colonies formed a siege army outside British-occupied Boston. In June, the Continental Congress took over the New England army, creating a national force, the Continental Army. Thereafter, men throughout America took up arms. It seemed to the British regulars that every able-bodied American male had become a soldier.  (Smithsonian, Ferling)

Following this, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence and it was signed by 56-members of the Congress (1776.)

The next eight years (1775-1783) war was waging on the eastern side of the continent.  The main result was an American victory and European recognition of the independence of the United States.

Some 100,000 men served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Probably twice that number soldiered as militiamen, for the most part defending the home front, functioning as a police force and occasionally engaging in enemy surveillance.  (Smithsonian, Ferling)  Though never more than 48,000 served at a time. (Military-com, Stilwell)

The formal end of the war did not occur until the Treaty of Paris and the Treaties of Versailles were signed on September 3, 1783 and recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded roughly by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west.

The last British troops left New York City on November 25, 1783, and the US Congress of the Confederation ratified the Paris treaty on January 14, 1784.

Between 25,000 and 70,000 American Patriots died during active military service.  Of these, approximately 6,800 were killed in battle, while at least 17,000 died from disease. The majority of the latter died while prisoners of war of the British, mostly in the prison ships in New York Harbor. (Veterans Museum)

Lexington and Concord led many Americans to support the ‘revolution’. For John Adams, these battles were the moment ‘the Die was cast, the Rubicon crossed’. They also showed that American citizen soldiers could stand up to redcoats; something previously doubted by many on both sides.

It was the turning point in the future of the continent and an everlasting change in what would become the United States.

It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who coined the phrase ‘Shot Heard Round the World’ and used it his 1837 poem, ‘Concord Hymn,’ that he wrote for the dedication of a battle monument at the site of the North Bridge.

Click the following link to a general summary about Lexington and Concord – “The Shot Heard Round the World”:

Click to access Shot-Heard-Round-the-World.pdf

Click to access Lexington-and-Concord-–-‘The-Shot-Heard-Round-the-World-SAR-RT.pdf

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

250 Years Ago … One if by Land, Two if by Sea

Paul Revere served as a messenger, “In the year 1773 I was imployed by the Select men of the Town of Boston to carry the Account of the Destruction of the Tea to New-York; and afterwards, 1774, to Carry their dispatches to New-York and Philadelphia for Calling a Congress; and afterwards to Congress, several times.” (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

In 1774 and 1775, the Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety employed Paul Revere as an express rider to carry news, messages, and copies of important documents as far away as New York and Philadelphia.

“In the Fall of 1774 & Winter of 1775 I was one of upwards of thirty, cheifly mechanics, who formed our selves in to a Committee for the purpose of watching the Movements of the British Soldiers, and gaining every intelegence of the movements of the Tories. We held our meetings at the Green-Dragon Tavern.”

“We were so carefull that our meetings should be kept Secret; that every time we met, every person swore upon the Bible, that they would not discover any of our transactions, But to Messrs. Hancock, Adams, Doctors Warren, Church, & one or two more.” (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

On the evening of April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren summoned Paul Revere and gave him the task of riding to Lexington, Massachusetts, with the news that British soldiers stationed in Boston were about to march into the countryside northwest of the town.

“In the Winter, towards the Spring, we frequently took Turns, two and two, to Watch the Soldiers, By patrolling the Streets all night. The Saturday Night preceding the 19th of April, about 12 oClock at Night, the Boats belonging to the Transports were all launched, & carried under the Sterns of the Men of War. (They had been previously hauld up & repaired).”

“We likewise found that the Grenadiers and light Infantry were all taken off duty. From these movements, we expected something serious was [to] be transacted. On Tuesday evening, the 18th, it was observed, that a number of Soldiers were marching towards the bottom of the Common.”  (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

According to Warren, these troops planned to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two leaders of the Sons of Liberty, who were staying at a house in Lexington. It was thought they would then continue on to the town of Concord, to capture or destroy military stores – gunpowder, ammunition, and several cannon – that had been stockpiled there.

In fact, the British troops had no orders to arrest anyone – Dr. Warren’s intelligence on this point was faulty – but they were very much on a major mission out of Boston. (Paul Revere House)

“I was sent for by Docr. Joseph Warren, of said Boston, on the evening of the 18th of April, about to oClock;”

“When he desired me, ‘to go to Lexington, and inform Mr. Samuel Adams, and the Honl. John Hancock Esqr. that there was a number of Soldiers, composed of Light troops, & Grenadiers, marching to the bottom of the Common, where was a number of Boats to receive them; it was supposed, that they were going to Lexington, by the way of Cambridge River, to take them, or go to Concord, to destroy the Colony Stores.’”  (Revere Deposition, 1775, Massachusetts Historical Society)

Warren had also asked another rider, William Dawes to go to Lexington.

“When I got to Dr. Warren’s house, I found he had sent an express by land to Lexington – a Mr. Wm. Daws.”  (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

Revere contacted an unidentified friend (probably Robert Newman, the sexton of Christ Church in Boston’s North End) and instructed him to hold two lit lanterns in the tower of Christ Church (now called the Old North Church) as a signal to fellow Sons of Liberty across the Charles River in case Revere was unable to leave town.

“The Sunday before, by desire of Dr. Warren, I had been to Lexington, to Mess. Hancock and Adams, who were at the Rev. Mr. Clark’s. I returned at Night thro Charlestown; there I agreed with a Col. Conant, & some other Gentle men, in Charleston …”

“… that if the British went out by Water, we would shew two Lanthorns in the North Church Steeple; & if by Land, one, as a Signal; for we were aprehensive it would be dificult to Cross the Charles River, or git over Boston neck. I left Dr. Warrens, called upon a friend, and desired him to make the Signals.”  (Revere to Belknap, 1798, Massachusetts Historical Society)

The two lanterns were a predetermined signal stating that the British troops planned to row “by sea” across the Charles River to Cambridge, rather than march “by land” out Boston Neck.

Revere proceeded the short distance to Boston’s North End waterfront. There two friends rowed him across the river to Charlestown. Slipping past the British warship HMS Somerset in the darkness, Revere landed safely.

After informing Colonel Conant and other local Sons of Liberty about recent events in Boston and verifying that they had seen his signals in the North Church tower, Revere borrowed a horse from John Larkin, a Charlestown merchant and a patriot sympathizer. While there, a member of the Committee of Safety named Richard Devens warned Revere that there were a number of British officers in the area who might try to intercept him.

At about eleven o’clock Revere set off on horseback. After narrowly avoiding capture just outside of Charlestown, Revere changed his planned route and rode through Medford, where he alarmed Isaac Hall, the captain of the local militia, of the British movements.

He then alarmed almost all the houses from Medford, through Menotomy (today’s Arlington) – carefully avoiding the Royall Mansion whose property he rode through (Isaac Royall was a well-known Loyalist) — and arrived in Lexington sometime after midnight.

“In Medford, I awaked the Captain of the Minute men; & after that, I alarmed almost every House, till I got to Lexington.”

 In Lexington, as he approached the house where Adams and Hancock were staying,  Sergeant Monroe, acting as a guard outside the house, requested that he not make so much noise.

“Noise!” cried Revere, “You’ll have noise enough before long. The regulars are coming out!” According to tradition, John Hancock, who was still awake, heard Revere’s voice and said “Come in, Revere! We’re not afraid of you”.  (Paul Revere House)

Five Riders

Because of the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Paul Revere is often credited as the sole rider who alerted the colonies that the Regulars (British) were coming.

Yet, despite this tale, there were many riders who went out the night of April 18 and in the years following, warning the colonists of the approach and movement of the British forces.

Dozens of messengers raced on horseback to spread the word. (LA Times)  Five have been named; four men and one woman made late night rides, alerting the early Americans of what dangers lay ahead. They were Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, Israel Bissell, William Dawes and Sybil Ludington.

Click the following links to general summaries about One if by Land, Two if by Sea:

Click to access One-if-by-Land-Two-if-by-Sea-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access One-if-by-Land-Two-if-by-Sea.pdf

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

About 250 Years Ago … No Taxation Without Representation

As we approach the semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary of the forming of the United States, here is a brief summary of issues and actions that led to the Revolution and the Revolutionary War … this is about No Taxation Without Representation.

The settlers who migrated to and/or resettled in the colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut paid little to nothing in taxes during the first few decades of their establishment. The English government imposed almost no taxes.

The chartered companies that established the colonies initially collected only quitrents, a land tax originally paid by freemen to the Crown or to the company that held a charter from the Crown. The quitrent, an annual payment of a fixed rate of several shillings for each hundred acres of land, secured a freeman’s title to his land; it was paid in lieu of the services traditionally required by feudal custom.

The early colonies were sparsely settled and even more sparsely administered. The few officials who served did not receive official salaries until sometime in the 1640s. Their compensation came from fees for services rendered. These included issuing court papers, keeping records, arresting and punishing criminals, and issuing licenses.

In the early years, voluntary contributions supported spending on civic activities and church ministers. Too many free riders induced leaders to make contributions compulsory.

Taxpayers were recognized for their contributions; in Dedham, for example, the largest taxpayers received the best seats in church.  The small sums collected by colonial governments were spent largely on roads, churches, and schools.

Reflecting the values of the day, a prominent nineteenth-century historian, Richard T. Ely, wrote that “one of the things against which our forefathers in England and in the American colonies contended was not against oppressive taxation, but against the payment of any taxes at all” (emphasis added).

But taxes were not long in coming.

Growing populations in the colonies necessitated defensive measures against Indians and other European intruders, along with the need to build and maintain roads, schools, prisons, public buildings, and ports and to support poor relief. A variety of direct and indirect taxes was gradually imposed on the colonists.

In 1638, the General Court in Massachusetts required all freemen and non-freemen to support both the commonwealth and the church. Direct taxes took two forms: (1) a wealth tax and (2) a poll, or head tax, which in some instances evolved into or included an income tax.

Taxation from the British Parliament

Many authors credit the phrase “No Taxation without representation” to the Boston lawyer and legislator James Otis, Jr. (1725-1783), based on how John Adams recalled Otis’s argument in the writs of assistance case in 1761.

Adams wrote a letter to Otis’s biographer William Tudor, Jr., in 1818. After quoting that letter at length Tudor wrote in his book:

“From the navigation act the advocate [Otis] passed to the Acts of Trade, and these, he contended, imposed taxes, enormous, burthensome, intolerable taxes; and on this topic he gave full scope to his talent, for powerful declamation and invective, against the tyranny of taxation without representation.”  (Emphasis added)

(As noted, Otis did raise the issue of where legislatures could fairly tax subjects – but he didn’t use the memorable words “no taxation without representation.”)

This was followed up by declarations at the Stamp Tax Congress in New York in October 1865.  The Stamp Act Congress passed a ‘Declaration of Rights and Grievances.’  This claimed that American colonists were equal to all other British citizens, protested taxation without representation, and stated that, without colonial representation in Parliament, Parliament could not tax colonists. In addition, the colonists increased their nonimportation efforts.

In part, they declared,

“That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their own consent, given personally, or by their representatives.”  (Article III)

“That the people of these colonies are not, and from their local circumstances cannot be, represented in the House of Commons in Great-Britain.” (Article IV)

“That the only representatives of the people of these colonies, are persons chosen therein by themselves, and that no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed on them, but by their respective legislatures.” (Article V)

“No Taxation Without Representation,” in the context of British American Colonial taxation, appears in  the February 1768 London Magazine’s headline, on page 89, in the printing of Lord  Camden’s “Speech on the Declaratory Bill of the Sovereignty of Great Britain over the Colonies.”

Taxation Without Representation Led to War

The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) was sparked after American colonists chafed over issues like taxation without representation, embodied by laws like The Stamp Act and The Townshend Acts. Mounting tensions came to a head during the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, when the “shot heard round the world” was fired.

It was not without warning; the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770 and the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 showed the colonists’ increasing dissatisfaction with British rule in the colonies.

The Declaration of Independence, issued on July 4, 1776, enumerated the reasons the Founding Fathers felt compelled to break from the rule of King George III and parliament to start a new nation. In September of that year, the Continental Congress declared the “United Colonies” of America to be the “United States of America.”

France joined the war on the side of the colonists in 1778, helping the Continental Army conquer the British at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution and granting the 13 original colonies independence was signed on September 3, 1783. (History-com)

Click the following link to a general summary about No Taxation Without Representation:

Click to access No-Taxation-Without-Representation-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access No-Taxation-Without-Representation.pdf

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

About 250 Years Ago … Growth of the Colonies

As we approach the semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary of the forming of the United States, here is a brief summary of issues and actions that led to the Revolution and the Revolutionary War … this is about the Growth of the Colonies.

In the early 1600s, in rapid succession, the English began a colony (Jamestown) in Chesapeake Bay in 1607, the French built Quebec in 1608, and the Dutch began their interest in the region that became present-day New York.

Within another generation, the Plymouth Company (1620), the Massachusetts Bay Company (1629), the Company of New France (1627), and the Dutch West India Company (1621) began to send thousands of colonists, including families, to North America. Successful colonization was not inevitable. Rather, interest in North America was a halting, yet global, contest among European powers to exploit these lands.  (LOC)

By 1650, however, England had established a dominant presence on the Atlantic coast. The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620.

In both Virginia and Massachusetts, the colonists flourished with some assistance from Native Americans. New World grains such as corn kept the colonists from starving while, in Virginia, tobacco provided a valuable cash crop. By the early 1700s enslaved Africans made up a growing percentage of the colonial population.

Here is a list of the thirteen colonies (now states) with the year they were founded and some notes on their formation:

  • Virginia (1607) – John Smith and the London Company.  This colony was named after Queen Elizabeth I, the “virgin queen” who married England instead of a husband. (West Virginia wasn’t a separate state until 1861.)
  • New Hampshire (1623) – The settlement of New Hampshire did not happen because those who came were persecuted out of England.  It was named by John Mason after the county of Hampshire in England (home of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens).
  • Massachusetts (1630) – Puritans looking for religious freedom. It was named after an Algonquian tribe, the Massachusett, which translates to something along the lines of “people of the great hill” or “at the place of large hills,” referring to the famous Blue Hills southwest of Boston.
  • Maryland (1633) – George and Cecil Calvert as a safe haven for Catholics who were persecuted in England.  Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, received a charter from Charles I of England and the colony was to be named after Charles’ wife, Queen Henrietta Mary (she went by Queen Mary).
  • Connecticut (1636) – The Dutch were the first Europeans to reach Connecticut in 1614. But there were already Native Americans in what would become the Nutmeg State. The name Connecticut is derived from the Algonquian word “quinnehtukqut” that means “beside the long tidal river.”
  • Rhode Island (1636) – Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in the early 16th century referred to an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay that he compared to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean.  Some suggest Dutch explorer Adrian Block named it “Roodt Eylandt” meaning “red island” in reference to the red clay that lined the shore.
  • Delaware (1638) – The New Sweden Company was chartered and, in 1638, established The Colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina, in what is today Wilmington, Delaware. British took over in 1664.  The bay, river, colony and now state were named in 1610 by English explorer Samuel Argall (1580-1626) in honor of Virginia’s governor, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.
  • North Carolina (1663) – Beginning in 1712, there were separate and distinct governments of the northeastern and southwestern parts of Carolina, and they were referred to as North and South Carolina.  Each received separate royal colonies in 1729.  Named after King Charles I. The Latin version of Charles is “Carolus,” from which “Carolina” is derived.
  • South Carolina (1663) – Beginning in 1712, there were separate and distinct governments of the northeastern and southwestern parts of Carolina, and they were referred to as North and South Carolina.  Each received separate royal colonies in 1729.  Named after King Charles I. The Latin version of Charles is “Carolus,” from which “Carolina” is derived.
  • New York (1664) – Originally founded by the Dutch (1614), it became a British colony in 1664. It was originally called New Netherland when the Dutch founded it — when the British took over in 1664 it received its present name that honors King Charles II’s brother, the Duke of York and Albany.  (The word York comes from the Latin word for city.)
  • New Jersey (1664) – The Dutch, Swedes, and Finns were the first European settlers in New Jersey.  First settled by the Dutch, the English took over in 1664.  In 1664 the Dutch lost New Netherlands when the British took control of the land and added it to their colonies. It was named for the island of Jersey in the English Channel in honor of Sir George Carteret.  (Carteret had been governor of the Isle of Jersey.)
  • Pennsylvania (1681) – The Swedes and Dutch were the first European settlers.  In May of 1680, William Penn petitioned King Charles II for land in the New World. Penn wished to call the land “New Wales,” or simply “Sylvania,” Latin for “woods.” King Charles II insisted that “Penn” precede the word “Sylvania”, in honor of William’s late father to create “Pennsylvania”, or “Penn’s Woods.”
  • Georgia (1732) – In the 1730s, England founded the last of its colonies in North America. The four-fold purpose in founding Georgia were to provide relief of the poor; to build a buffer colony against the Spaniards in Florida and the French in Louisiana; to promote trade of Great Britain; and to provide refuge for persecuted Protestants (and carry Christianity to the ‘Indians’).  Georgia is named for King George II. King George granted the charter in 1732, stipulating that the territory bear his name.  (The -ia suffix means ‘state of’ and comes from the Greek language.)

Growth in the Colonies

It took from 1607 to 1630 to reach a combined estimated population of 4,646 in six colonies: Maine, New Hampshire, Plymouth, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia.

By 1640, new settlements had been placed or developed in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland, bringing the colonial population to 26,634. It nearly doubled to 50,358 by mid-century, with one new colony established in Delaware.

During the next three decades, the colonies of Carolina, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were established. Maine joined with Massachusetts. Total estimated population of the colonies reached 151,507 in 1680. Of these, Negroes numbered 6,971, of which some 3,000 were in Virginia.  (The word “Negro” is used in the Census Bureau’s statistical tables.)

In the last two decades of the century, no new colonies were established. Plymouth merged with Massachusetts in 1691. The population of the colonies grew to 250,888 in 1700, of which Negroes numbered 16,729 (11.2 percent), as slavery provided labor for tobacco and other plantations.

The first American century consisted of coastal, sparsely populated settlements. For purposes of comparison with the mother country, the population of England in 1607 has been estimated at 4,303,043, rising modestly to 5,026,877 in 1700. During the 1600s, England encouraged migration to the colonies to help ward off French ambitions in the new world.

After an initial period of high mortality, the colonists soon acclimated to their new circumstances. Better economic conditions and the absence of wars and violent religious disputes attracted thousands of European migrants, freemen and indentured servants alike. The colonists enjoyed greater abundance and variety in their diets.

Low densities and dispersed settlements minimized the spread of communicable diseases and epidemics. Abundant forests provided heating fuel. Infant mortality rates quickly fell below those in Europe. A typical colonial family had eight children, double that of England and Europe. By 1700, colonial women routinely lived into their sixties despite risks of death in childbirth.

By the mid-1600s, the colonies were fast becoming lands of opportunity.

About three-quarters of the colonists were farmers. A typical farm often exceeded 100 acres. Farmers produced surpluses of grain that rivaled the output of tobacco. A colonial adult farmer consumed 150-200 pounds of meat a year; most corn was fed to livestock. Farm families supplemented agricultural work with handicraft production.

Most farmers owned their land. To encourage immigration, colonists often received free or almost free land. Land was readily available at low prices, and new land was accessible on the frontier. Many tenants acquired their own land after a short period of tenancy, a change in status that was virtually impossible in Europe.

In 1700, there were about 250,000 European settlers and enslaved Africans in North America’s English colonies.

By 1750, some 80 per cent of the North American continent was controlled or influenced by France or Spain. Their presence was a source of tension and paranoia among those in the 13 British colonies, who feared encirclement, invasion and the influence of Catholicism.

There was a huge increase in population in America during the 1700s

  • In 1700 there were 300,000 people in America; 20,000 blacks
  • By 1775 there were 2.5 million people in America; 500,000 were black
  • 400,000 were new immigrants; an additional 400,000 were black slaves
  • The rest was due to the natural fertility of Americans; colonists doubled their numbers every 25 years

Click the following link to a general summary about Growth of the Colonies:

Click to access Growth-of-the-British-North-American-Colonies-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access Growth-of-the-Colonies.pdf

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