English Puritans founded Boston in 1630.

Boston is known as the "Cradle of Liberty" since it was the birthplace of the Revolutionary War.

Starting as early as 1765, the people of Boston were protesting against the "Stamp Act" passed by the British Parliament. The Stamp Act made the colonists pay a tax on things such as newspapers and legal documents. They protested "taxation without representation" because Parliament did not allow the colonies to have their own representatives as part of Parliament.

The Boston Massacre, in which British soldiers fired into a mob of protesters, caused even more people to be against British rule.

The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773 to protest a tea tax.

The first battles of the Revolutionary war - Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill - took place near Boston.

General Washington's troops forced the British to evacuate Boston in March 1776.

Boston patriots such as Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Dr. Joseph Warren, and John Hancock were very influential in persuading all of the colonies to join together to protest British rule.