Sunday, September 15, 2019

"Fall Down and Worship Our Sovereign Lord the Mob" - Massachusetts Mob Violence on the Eve of the American Revolution

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A couple of weekends ago, the Nerds were at the Newport Historical Society for the reenactment of the 1769 burning of the HMS Liberty . On...
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Sunday, August 25, 2019

"Fortified In Such a Manner As To Do Honour" - The Impregnable Newburyport Harbor

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Recently, the Nerds have been researching why the coastal community of Newburyport quickly became a safe haven for Massachusetts and New Ha...
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Thursday, August 8, 2019

"Wath a View to Rescue the Soldier" - Who Was the British Deserter Who Trained the Freetown Militia?

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A few years ago, we had discussed British army deserter George Marsden and his role in training minute and militia companies in the Merrima...
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Thursday, July 25, 2019

"Repugnant to Its Existence" - A Brief Snapshot of the Legal Rights of Enslaved People in Colonial Massachusetts

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In 1700, a royal census report indicated that there were over 27,000 enslaved people in the American colonies. Of course, slavery did exist ...
Wednesday, July 17, 2019

"Far Beyond Any Honest Means" - Was a Child Arsonist Responsible for the Great Fire of 1811?

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Newburyport’s Great Fire of 1811 has recently been on the nerds’ collective mind. The May 31, 1811 conflagration consumed over sixteen acre...
Wednesday, July 3, 2019

"A List of Imaginary Grievances" - A Loyalist's Response to the Declaration of Independence

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Boston-born Loyalist Thomas Hutchinson held several prominent positions within the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, including chief justice, lie...
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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

"The Armed Schooner Success" - How a Newburyport Privateer Caused a Diplomatic Dispute with Spain

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The Privateer Success was a schooner that was owned by the wealthy Newburyport merchant Nathaniel Tracy. In May of 1776, Tracy decided to ...