Semiquincentennial

Also called the Bisesquicentennial, the Sestercentennial, America 250 or the Quarter Millenium - this marks the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.  Festivities will mark various events leading up to the Declaration's anniversary on July 4, 2026.

Nevertheless, I recommend we start celebrating now.  Why, you ask?  Because it was 250 years ago, this year, that stuff that really mattered in our history actually happened.

Consequently, The Missus and I traveled to Boston very recently and spent more than a week with a small group is similarly-motivated citizen history nerds to learn more about the history and events that led-up to our road to independence.

To facilitate this adventure we booked a tour with Road Scholar (formerly Elder Hostel) thereby utilizing their expertise in guiding the process, facilitating the participation of local historians and creating a group dynamic encouraging active participation of inquiry and search for knowledge.

Each day included a mix of lecture, Q&A, site visits with exploration and more walking than I've done in awhile.  If you've never been to Boston - as are many places in Europe and abroad - the streets and sidewalks are cobble stones strewn with potholes and other hazards to navigation.  The fact that not a person in our group turned an ankle is miraculous. 

Subsequent posts will cover some (but not all) of these significant events.  So stay-tuned and stop back periodically for a guided walk down our road to Independence.

 Key Dates and Events

1630 - Puritans arrive in Massachusetts and settle Boston 

1686 - King James II revokes the Massachusetts Bay Colony's charter and installs                          Sir Edmund Andros as governor

1689 - Bostonians force Governor Andros to resign

1756 -1763 - Seven Year's War (French and Indian War) drains the British treasury

1760 - King George III accedes to the British Throne 

1761 - James Otis argues against the Writs of Assistance in a court trail at the Old                          State House

1763 - Faneuil Hall is dedicated to the "Cause of Liberty" by Otis 

1765 - Stamp Act passed; riots occur in Boston and other cities

1766 - Stamp Act repealed; great celebrations follow 

1767 - Townshend Acts passed; non-importation boycott begins

1768 - June 10, John Hancock's ship Liberty is seized in a disagreement over the                           payment of customs duties; protesters riot in Boston

         - October 1, British troops land in Boston to maintain order

1770 - March 5, the Boston Massacre 

1772 - Committees of Correspondence formed to oppose "despotism" of Governor                        Hutchinson in a dispute over his salary

1773 - Tea Act passed; December 16, Boston Tea Party 

1774 - Intolerable Acts passed; punishes Bostonians for the destroyed tea, closes                         the town's seaport and abolishes all local elected popular government

         - General Thomas Gage appointed governor by King George III

         - Patriots "practice the military art" and organize the Minute Men 

         - September, First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia

1775 - April 19, Lexington and Concord, British troops march to Concord to seize rebel                     supplies.  Alarmed by Paul Revere and William Dawes the Minute Men stand on                 Lexington Green.  At Daybreak the first shots of the war are fired.  The Siege of                 Boston begins.  

         - June 17, Battle of Bunker Hill.  Americans fortify Charlestown overlooking Boston                from the north.  British troops suffer over 1,000 casualties to take the American's                fort.

         - July 2, General George Washington arrives at Cambridge to take command of the                Continental Army 

1776 - March 4-5, Americans fortify Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston from the south

         - March 17, Evacuation Day.  British troop, government officials, and loyalists sail                out of Boston harbor never to return  

         - July 4, Declaration of Independence adopted at Philadelphia

1781 - Battle of Yorktown (Virginia); final surrender of the British forces

1783 - Peace treaty is signed between the United States and Great Britain 

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Fast forward to today.  

In our travels we taken countless subway and bus rides.  If we don't make an advance purchase one of the first tasks after arriving and clearing Customs is the purchase of our transit passes.  Rider passes go by various names; Paris is Navigo, New York is the MetroCard, Berlin uses the WelcomeCard, London has the Oyster Card and in Boston it is called the CharlieCard.  CharlieCard you say?  There's even a song about it.....