Page 136 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

134  NE W ENGLAND

As the colonists became more prosperous American Revolution had begun, with the
and self-sufficient, their resentment of first major battle at Bunker Hill in Boston
British control and British taxes increased. on June 17, 1775. The Declaration of
The turning point came with the “Boston Independence, signed by Colonial leaders
Tea Party” in 1773, when three British ships in Philadephia on July 4, 1776, announced
arrived at Boston Harbor laden with tea. the birth of a new nation.
About 60 local leaders, disguised as In the 19th century, New
Native Americans, boarded the ships England’s maritime trade grew
and dumped 342 tea chests, worth more lucrative, as ships plied
about $1,700,000 in today’s money, between the region’s harbors
into the harbor as an act of defiance and the West Indies, Europe,
against an oppressive regime. and the Far East. The whaling
Meanwhile, locals had begun industry reached its zenith at
stockpiling arms in the countryside. this time, and cotton and wool
In 1775, when British soldiers were manufacturing also flourished.
sent to Concord to destroy these New England’s role in 19th-
caches, American patriots (known century America was not merely
as “Minutemen,” for their ability to one of economic powerhouse.
muster at a moment’s notice) Minute Man statue in It was the cultural heart of the
Concord
repelled them at Concord and nation as well. Boston was the
nearby Lexington. They had been tipped center of a strong protest against slavery.
off by a dramatic “midnight” horseback Instigated by a newspaper called The
ride from Boston by Paul Revere. The Liberator, the so-called abolitionist move-
ment set up what came to be known as
KEY DATES IN HISTORY the Underground Railroad, which provided
1614 John Smith explores the Northeast coast escape routes for fleeing slaves.
1620 The Pilgrims land at Plymouth
1630 Group of Puritans settle in Boston People & Culture
1636 Harvard, America’s first college, founded New England has continued to play an
1692 Salem witch trials begin important role in the life of the nation.
1770 British soldiers kill five in Boston Massacre It was this region that produced the first
1773 New taxes spur Boston Tea Party flowering of American culture, with
1775 Battles at Concord and Lexington mark influential 19th-century literary giants
beginning of Revolutionary War such as Henry David Thoreau, Herman
1783 Treaty of Paris ends Revolutionary War Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mark
1820 Maine breaks away from Massachusetts and Twain. All these writers won international
becomes 20th state
1831 Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison publishes
first edition of anti-slavery newspaper
1851 Herman Melville publishes Moby Dick
1884 Mark Twain publishes The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
1897 Country’s first subway opens in Boston
1961 John F. Kennedy becomes president
2004 Massachusetts becomes first US state to legally
recognize gay marriage
2012 Oldest field in Major League Baseball, Fenway
Park, celebrates centenary
2013 Terrorist bombs set off at the Boston Marathon
2015 New England Patriots win their fourth Super Bowl
Harvard University’s Widener Library, the third-largest library in
the United States

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Portrait template “UK” LAYER
(SourceReport v1.2)
Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm