Puritan Boston

Boston, Massachusetts was founded in 1630 when the settlements of Trimoutaine and Shawmut both changed their names to Boston. The city of Boston was named after a city in England.

In the early 1630's, Boston became the center of Puritan New England. Its deep harbor helped it become the busiest port in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. America's first school, Boston Latin School, was founded in 1635. and America's first university, Harvard College, was founded in Boston in 1636. Today, Boston is home to 68 colleges and universities. In 1644, Boston Common became America's first public park. Sixty years later, in 1704, America's first newspaper was published in Boston.

In the 1760's and 1770's, Boston was the center of a brewing revolution against British rule and taxes. The Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party were major events that occurred in the city which led to the revolution. In 1775, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired in the nearby town of Lexington.