The Way of a Ship: A Square Rigger Voyage in the Last Days of Sail
Local Native Americans fished and planted crops along the coasts of the 30 or so Islands that dot the Harbor.
In the early 1600's the Massachusetts Bay Company, a small band of Puritans led by John Winthrop, landed and began settling the area, clearing land for livestock and firewood. Boston Harbor quickly became a busy trading port. By 1660 almost all English imports to New England came through these waters. As the colonists grew in number and strength, the British parliament began taxing unfairly, including a tariff on sugar, coffee and wine.
Then on May 10, 1773, the British parliament authorized the East India Co., to export a half a million pounds of tea to the American colonies for the purpose of selling it without imposing upon the company the usual duties and tariffs. With these privileges, the company could undersell American merchants and monopolize the colonial tea trade. This proved to be the spark that revived American passions about the issue of taxation without representation.
Three ships from London, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor and the Beaver, sailed into Boston Harbor from November 28th to December 8, 1773. Loaded with tea from the East India Company, they were all anchored at Griffin’s Wharf but were prevented from unloading their cargo. Demanding that the tea be returned to where it came from or face retribution, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams began to meet to determine the fate of the three cargo ships in the Boston harbor. On the cold evening of December 16, 1773, a large band of patriots, disguised as Mohawk Indians, headed towards Griffin's Wharf and the three ships. Quickly, quietly, and in an orderly manner, the Sons of Liberty boarded each of the tea ships. Once on board, the patriots went to work striking the chests with axes and hatchets. Thousands of spectators watched in silence. Once the crates were open, the patriots dumped the tea into the sea.
Once the Revolutionary War broke out in earnest in 1776, Boston Harbor became a crucial battleground.
After the Revolutionary War and the drafting of the United States Constitution, Boston Harbor and her islands continued to play an important role in civil defense and in international commerce with trade as far away as Shanghai. By the mid-1800s, the elegant and fast clipper ships were being built in her harbor by Donald McKay, and Boston joined in the race with New York shipbuilders to be first around the world and first to San Francisco to reach the gold fields.
By 1796, by the record of the Bureau of Navigation, the American fleet registered for foreign commerce amounted to 476,733 tons. The years between 1789 and 1826 were the golden age of American seaborne commerce: The growth of American shipping from 1789 to 1807 is without parallel in the history of the commercial world of the time.
(Click on map image for additional views and details.)
From the New York Gazette of December 15, 1829
PIRACY.-- Our Boston correspondent, Mr. Topliff, writes us as follows, under date of Saturday evening:—"The ship
Candace, Lindsey, which sailed hence on the 20th of October,
for Sumatra, having on board 19,850 dollars in specie,
five bales of indigo, and seven bales dry goods, arrived at
Marblehead this forenoon. Mr. Field, the supercargo, has
arrived in town, and informs us that on the 13th of November,
lat. 9. N., long. 24. W. to the southward of Cape de Verde,
they fell in with an hermaphrodite piratical brig, which
boarded and robbed them of all their specie, dry goods, some
provisions, and the principal part of the clothing of the officers,
their watches, &c. They put the officers below in the
cabin, and the crew in the forecastle, and kept them under
guard during the time they were plundering the vessel. They
used no violence to the crew, nor injured the vessel in any
respect. They boarded the Candace about three p. m., and
left her at seven, at which time their was another vessel in
sight, standing S.S.E., and could only tell that she was a full
rigged vessel, which they stood for. The Candace had five
bales of opium, which they declined taking, and said they
would make them a present of it.
The brig Oscar, arrived at New Orleans from Vera Cruz reports that an hermaphrodite brig, name unknown, with an uncommonly large fore topsail, was cruising between the bar of Tampico and Tuspan on the 4th instant, and had captured a Mexican coaster from Tobasco, off Tampico. The captain of the coaster, Lieutenant F. Davis, of the Mexican navy says there is no doubt of her being a pirate ; he was treated with lenity, only losing a part of his apparel, having known the captain, a Canarian, personally, Blas Rodriguez. There was no authority or discipline on board, other than that which is acquired by the commander being the chief in villainy.
Bangor Daily Whit and Courier, January 12, 1844
Bangor, Maine
The Salem Observer says that all the fishing vessels of Marblehead safely returned to that port before the winter set in, excepting one, which has not been heard from since she left the Grand Bank. Her crew consisted of Capt. Goodwin and five men, and it is feared that the vessel and crew are utterly lost.
August 14, 1852, Weekly News and Chronicle
London, Middlesex, United Kingdom
THE DISPUTE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA.
News from the Bay of St. Lawrence, brought by the Humboldt, which left New York on the 31st ult., and arrived at Cowes on Thursday, states that an anchorage duty of 6d. per ton had been' demanded by the British upon all United States fishing vessels. Two more American fishing sloops had been seized by the English cruisers. Fourteen ships of war (English) were cruising on the grounds, four more being fitted out at St. John's. A part of the Japan expedition had been ordered to the scene of the dispute, and the Mississippi, Commodore Perry, was coaling for that object at New York. The New York Herald states that the President was displeased with Mr. Secretary Webster's course on the subject, and notwithstanding the threatening aspect of affairs, it was hoped an amicable arrangement would shortly be come to. Stock market and cotton firm; breadstuffs and freights dull. Exchange on London, 110-3/8. In reply to an address of congratulation, delivered to the United States Secretary of State on his arrival at Marshfield on the 25th ultimo, Mr. Webster replied, and referred in the following terms to the fisheries question:
"Mr. Sprague has made allusion to recent occurences threatening disturbances on account of the fisheries. It would not become me to speak much on that subject until I speak officially, and under direction of the head of the Government. And then I shall speak. In the meantime be assured that interest will not be neglected by this administration under any circumstances. The fishermen shall be protected in all their rights of property, and in all their rights of occupation. To use a Marblehead phrase, they shall be protected, hook and line, and bob and sinker. And why should they not? They employ a vast number. Many of our own people are engaged in that vocation. There are, perhaps, among you some who have been on the Grand Banks for forty successive years, and there hung on to the ropes in storm and wreck. The most potent consequences are involved in this matter. Our fisheries have been the very nurseries of our navy. If our flag-ships have conquered the enemy on the sea, the fisheries have been at the bottom of it ; the fisheries are where the seeds from which these glorious triumphs were born and sprung. Now, gentlemen, I may venture to say one or two things more on this highly-important subject. In the first place, this sudden interruption of the pursuits of our citizens, which had been carried on more than thirty years without interruption or molestation, can hardly be justified by any principle or consideration whatever. It is now more than thirty years that they have pursued the fishing in the same water and on the same coast, in which and' along which notice has now come that they shall be no longer allowed these privileges. Now this cannot be justified without notice. A mere indulgence of too long continuance, even if the privilege were riot an indulgence, cannot be withdrawn at this season of the year, when our people, according to their custom, have engaged in the business, without just and seasonable notice, I cannot but think the late dispatches from the Colonial-office had not attracted, to a sufficient degree, the attention of the principal Minister of the Crown, for I see matter in them quite inconsistent with the arrangement made in 1845 by the Earl of Aberdeen and Edward Everett. Then the Earl of Derby, the present First Minister, was Colonial Secretary. It could not well have taken place without his knowledge, and, in fact, without his concurrence or sanction. I cannot but. think, therefore, that its being overlooked is an inadvertence. The treaty of 1811 was made with the Crown of England.
Disasters Etc.: The Maritime World of Marblehead,
1815-1865
Focused on codfishing, shipbuilding, sea captains, and maritime law in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a seaport that was for two centuries the principal codfishing port of the new world. A portrait of the Grand Banks fishery and the clipper ship era. "Disasters" includes 19th century documents. Set against the backdrop of the town's fishing industry between the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
North Adams Transcript, November 12, 1901
North Adams, Massachusetts
CONGRESSMAN LAWRENCE WILL ASK FOR $3,600,000
To Make a Beginning on the Eight Million Dollar Improvement of Boston Harbor
One of the most important matters to come before congress, at least from a Massachusetts standpoint, is that of a big appropriation for the widening of the channel in Boston harbor for ocean-going steamships. As was the case when the fight was made for the appropriation last year, Congressman George P. Lawrence of this city will have charge of the bill. He is a member of the river and harbor committee, being urged for the place on the committee by prominent Bostonians for the express purpose of putting him in a position to help that city and its cause with the committee. Congressman Lawrence expects, however, the active support of the entire Massachusetts delegation in his fight and especially that of the two congressmen from Boston.
Since the fight of last session, the
question has been discussed by the
various business organizations and by
public men generally. Even the republican
and democratic state conventions
have indorsed the proposition,
thus giving the movement added
strength when congress assembles next
month.
Congressman Lawrence also expects the support of state and municipal authorities as well as the encouragement of such organizations as the Boston Chamber of Commerce, the board of trade and kindred bodies of business men. The Boston Post has interviewed the North Adams congressman on the way this matter is to be handled when it gets into the house this year, and the Post makes him say:
"During the second session of the Fifty-sixth congress the committee on rivers and harbors unanimously voted to adopt a project providing for a channel 35 feet deep, 1200 feet wide, from the navy yard to President Roads, and 1500 feet wide from President Koads to the sea. It was estimated by the war department that the cost of the project would be $8,000,000. In the bill reported to the house, and expenditure of $3,600,000 was authorized for prosecuting the work. The senate reduced the authorized' expenditure to $2,000,000. As is known, the bill was finally talked to death during the closing hours of congress.
"The Fifty-seventh congress meets on the first Monday of December, and the committee on rivers and harbors will at once enter upon the preparation of a new river and harbor bill. It is not expected that there will be much change in the personnel of the committee, and I do not anticipate any difficulty in securing another favorable report, the only question in my judgment being, the amount which will be authorized. "All over our country the people are realizing keenly the benefits which will come from generous appropriations for the improvement of our rivers and harbors.
"If we are to secure the desired appropriation for Boston harbor, it will be necessary for the Massachusetts delegation in congress to do hard work. It is also important that the press throughout the state and our commercial organizations should urge enthusiastically and persistently a large appropriation for Boston harbor. Our claim is certainly just; it is a great national project which will confer great national benefits, and is of vital importance to Massachusetts that Boston should remain a port of the first class. Today steamers costing $1,000,000, with a cargo costing half as much more, go in and out of Boston harbor at considerable risk. It is not safe to load them to their limit, and it cannot be expected that such great steamships will continue to be sent to Boston harbor unless the projected Improvements are made.
"As soon as the committee on rivers and harbors meets for the consideration of the bill I shall at once bring the matter before the committee and urge to the best of my ability prompt and favorable action."
A Puzzling Pair of Cape Cod Pirates: And Other Stories
This sequel to the author's previous work, The Boy Who Saved a Cape Cod Town, contains nineteen stories involving Cape Codders from four centuries. The book starts with "A Battle at Stage Harbor," which explores how Cape Cod became part of New England rather than "New France." It finishes with "The Adventures of Captain Baxter," about the legendary exploits of a West Dennis captain. An especially moving story is "Hannah Rebecca Burgess, Navigator," a tragic tale of love and adventure on the high seas. After the untimely death of her husband, a ship captain, young Hannah Burgess is forced to navigate a clipper ship full of cargo back to port-a feat virtually unheard-of for a woman of her era. These stories illustrate the kind of character and determination that has made Cape Cod great. Included are tales about the invention of commercial salt-making from sea water, the initiation of the banana trade, and Cape Codders sailing the world.
Susan Cheever brings new life to the well-known nineteenth century literary personages who produced such cherished works as The Scarlet Letter, Moby-Dick, Walden, and Little Women. The work of these literary personalities is at the heart of our national history and cultural identity; all were once considered avant-garde bohemian types at odds with the establishment.
These remarkable men and women were so improbably concentrated in placid Concord, Massachusetts that Henry James referred to the town as the "biggest little place in America." Among the host of luminaries who floated in and out of Concord's "American Bloomsbury" as satellites of the venerable intellect and prodigious fortune of Ralph Waldo Emerson were Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Fuller -- a glamorous editor and foreign correspondent.
Perhaps inevitably given the smallness of the place and the idiosyncrasies of its residents the members of the prestigious circle became both intellectually and romantically entangled: Thoreau serenaded an infatuated Louisa on his flute. Vying with Hawthorne for Fuller's attention Emerson wrote the fiery feminist love letters while she resided (yards away from his wife) in his guest room. Far from typically Victorian this group of intellectuals like their British Bloomsbury counterparts to whom the title refers not only questioned established literary forms but also resisted old moral and social strictures. Thoreau of course famously retreated to a plot of land on Walden Pond to escape capitalism pick berries and ponder nature. More shocking was the group's ambivalence toward the institution of marriage. Inclined to bend the rules of its bonds many of its members spent time at the notorious commune Brook Farm and because liberal theories could not entirely guarantee against jealousy the tension of real or imagined infidelities was always near the surface.
