1770, 3/5: The Boston Massacre

In 1770 one of the most well known events occurred in Boston. This was called the Boston Massacre. If you’ve heard of it you probably may wonder why it is called a massacre…

Defended by John Adams, Captain Preston was acquitted during the trial. Find out why. Read the original testimonials of whitnesses. See who else was accused.

Captain Preston and some of the soldiers were arrested and held for trial; the two regiments were removed to Castle William – an old fort on an island in Boston harbour. The popular leaders demanded that the soldiers be tried immediately but Hutchinson delayed the trials until October.

Hardly a Massacre – British View on Events

In 1768, Britain stationed military troops in Boston to maintain control among colonists and help to enforce the Townshend Acts of 1767. After Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, they wanted no more trouble like that. It still needed to pay for the army in America, though. So, the king’s finance minister, Charles Townshend, came up with a way to tax the colonies “without offense”, as he put it. This way was the Townshend Acts. These placed import taxes on glass, paint, paper, lead, and tea.

The Original Description as Published in the Gazette in 1770

The first British troops arrived in Boston in October 1768 and from then onwards there was continuous antagonism between the people of Boston and the soldiers. The local people did all they could to prevent quarters being found for the troops and the newspapers printed accounts of the ‘atrocities’ committed by the soldiers on the Bostonians. British officers made every effort to prevent trouble but minor conflicts were unavoidable.

The Exact Timeline of Events