Port History
Boston was an important trade port for Native Americans 4,000 years before Europeans got there. The Port of Boston was settled in 1630 by English Puritans who sought religious and political freedom, and for 50 years it was a homogeneous community governed by the Massachusetts Bay Company.
Commercial growth brought change to the Port of Boston, and the first royal governor arrived in 1686, bringing the Church of England and ending Puritan dominance. Settlers earned their living from the sea and, by the end of the 1600s, the Port of Boston’s fleet was third largest port in the English-speaking world.
Early independence set the Port of Boston’s character: it’s famous for the American Revolution‘s Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. American independence threatened the Port of Boston’s maritime industry when trade with British ports was halted. New trade routes were quickly developed, and trade with China and India restored prosperity.
Post-Civil War immigration brought major change to the Port of Boston when Roman Catholics outnumbered Protestants. In the late 19th Century, maritime commerce was overcome by banking, manufacturing, and railroads. In the early 20th Century, the Port of Boston was a strong financial center. But textile mills and railroads shrank from competition from cities like New York, and Boston suffered the economic shift away from New England.
Port Commerce
The Port of Boston is a modern container port, handling over a million tons of general cargo, 1.5 million tons of bulk non-fuel cargo, and almost 13 million tons of fuel cargos every year. The Port of Boston holds private oil and gas terminals that supply most of the State’s petroleum. It contains two shipyards, ferry operations, marine research organizations, marinas, and a major U.S. Coast Guard facility.
Cruising and Travel
Cruiseport Boston is a fast-growing cruise market. The Black Falcon Cruise Terminal serves over 200 thousand passengers a year. Several four- and five-star cruise lines visit regularly.
|
