Boston History
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States and the largest city in New England. The city was founded in 1630 on the Shawmut Peninsula by Puritan colonists from England. The city was the site of several firsts, including America's first public school, Boston Latin School (1635), and college, Harvard College (1636) in neighboring Cambridge, as well as the first subway system in the U.S.
In the 1770s, British attempts to exert more stringent control on the thirteen colonies, primarily via taxation, prompted Bostonians to initiate the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and several early battles occurred in or near the city, including the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. During this period, Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride.
In the 1820s, Boston's population began to swell and the city's ethnic composition changed dramatically with the first wave of European immigrants. Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period. By 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston.[16] In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, French Canadians, and Russian and Polish Jews settle in the city. By the end of the 19th century, Boston's core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants — Italians inhabited the North End, the Irish dominated the South End, and Russian Jews lived in the West End. Irish and Italians immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston's largest religious community and since the early 20th century the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics—prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O'Neill, and John F. Fitzgerald.
As America's student magnet, Boston is famous for its universities. Every August, Commonwealth Avenue from the Back Bay to Brighton is abuzz as hundreds of thousands of students move in. If your education is in progress, or about to begin, you've come to the right place. On this page, you'll find all the information you need to make the most of your life in Boston. From restaurants and nightlife to public safety and parking, the City of Boston opens its doors to you.
In the early 21st century, the city has become a center of intellectual, technological, and political ideas. However, Boston has experienced a loss of regional institutions, which included the acquisition of the Boston Globe by The New York Times, and the loss to mergers and acquisitions of local financial institutions such FleetBoston Financial, which was acquired by Charlotte-based Bank of America in 2004. The city also had to tackle gentrification issues and rising living expenses, with housing prices increasing sharply since the 1990s.