Boston was founded by English Puritans led by John Winthrop, who arrived with the Massachusetts Bay Company fleet. They settled on a hilly peninsula known to the Indigenous people as Shawmut, and renamed it after Boston in Lincolnshire, England, the home of several of the colonists. The town soon became the economic and political centre of New England. In the 1700s it was at the centre of colonial resistance to British taxation, with protests such as the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill in 1775 began the American Revolution. Boston is also home to some of the oldest universities in the country, and it remains a leading centre of education, medicine and technology.
Before and after
- 1630Founding of Somerville
- 1630Founding of Everett
- 1630Founding of Watertown
- 29 May 1630Birth of Charles II of England
- 7 September 1630Founding of Boston
- 15 November 1630Death of Johannes Kepler
- from 20 May 1631 to 24 May 1631Sack of Magdeburg
- from 1632 to 1634Smolensk War
- 1632Founding of University of Tartu
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1500Modern period
- from 15th century to 18th centuryEarly modern period
- from 1525 to 1947Prussia
- from 1526 to 1857Mughal Empire
- from 1543 to 1687Scientific Revolution
- from 1616 to 1912Qing dynasty
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.