As If an Enemy's Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution (Pivotal Moments in American History)

305 Pages·2010·2.59 MB·English

by  Richard Archer

As If an Enemy’s Country
PIVOTAL MOMENTS
IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Series Editors
David Hackett Fischer
James M. McPherson
James T. Patterson
Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy
Maury Klein
Rainbow’s End: The Crash of 1929
James M. McPherson
Crossroads of Freedom: The Battle of Antietam
Glenn C. Altschuler
All Shook Up: How Rock ’n’ Roll Changed America
David Hackett Fischer
Washington’s Crossing
John Ferling
Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800
Joel H. Silbey
Storm over Texas: The Annexation Controversy and the Road to Civil War
Raymond Arsenault
Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice
Colin G. Calloway
The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America
Richard Labunski
James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights
Sally McMillen
Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement
Howard Jones
The Bay of Pigs
Elliott West
The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story
Lynn Hudson Parsons
The Birth of Modern Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828
Glenn C. Altschuler and Stuart M. Blumin
The GI Bill: A New Deal for Veterans
As If an
enemy’s
Country
The British Occupation
of Boston and the
Origins of Revolution
RICHARD ARCHER
2010
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Copyright © 2010 by Richard Archer
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Archer, Richard, 1941–
As if an enemy’s country : the British occupation
of Boston and the origins of revolution / Richard Archer.
p. cm. — (Pivotal moments in American history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN978-0-19-538247-1
1. United States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Causes.
2. Boston (Mass.)—History—Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775.
I. Title.
E210.A73 2010
973.3—dc22 2009039919
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Julie Mayo, Steve Archer, and Steve Mayo
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Contents
List of Illustrations, ix
Editor’s Note, xi
Introduction: A Garrisoned Town, xiii
Chapter1: Grenville’s Innovation, 1
Chapter2: On the Brink, 20
Chapter3: Power and the Opposition, 39
Chapter4: An Accommodation of Sorts, 48
Chapter5: The Townshend Blunder, 65
Chapter6: A Momentous Decision, 82
Chapter7: Camping on the Common, 104
Chapter8: Occupation, 123
Chapter9: The Merchants and John Mein, 144
Chapter10: Prelude to a Tragedy, 166
Chapter11: The Massacre on King Street, 182
Chapter12: Aftermath, 207
Conclusion: A Revolutionary Legacy, 226
Acknowledgments,231
Notes,233
Works Cited, 265
Index,275
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Illustrations
Map of Boston, 1769 xv
A South East View of the Great
Town of Boston in New England
in America xvii
The Right Honourable George
Grenville, fi rst Lord
Commissioner of the Admiralty 2
Thomas Hutchinson 12
The Hon. James Otis, jun. Esq 13
A View of the Year 1765 25
Sir Francis Bernard 29
Samuel Adams 41
Boston Affairs 46
A View of the Obelisk Erected under
Liberty-tree on the Rejoicings for
the Repeal of the Stamp Act 1766 51
Town House as of 1785 56
The Right Honble. William Pitt,
Earl of Chatham 66
The Right Honble. Charles
Townshend Esq., late Chancellor
of the Exchequer 67
John Hancock 84
General Sir Thomas Gage 93
The Town of Boston in New England
and British Ships of War Landing
Their Troops! 1768 105
A Prospective View of Part of the
Common 112
Castle William 125