Paul Revere (1734-1818), who was to play such a dramatic role in the American Revolution five years later, drew this somewhat sensationalised picture of the ‘Boston Massacre’ on March 5th, 1770. During a protest against Britain’s regulation of American trade, five civilians were shot by London’s peace-keeping forces in the city, in what the British preferred to call the Incident on King Street. The event only served to heighten the tensions that erupted in the so-called Boston Tea Party in 1773.
DISSATISFACTION with Britain’s customs union was especially strong in Massachusetts, and on March 5th, 1770, five civilians were shot during a demonstration on King Street. Westminster hastily lifted restrictions on other commodities but the taxes on tea remained, lest American lawyers infer London had given up her right to tax the Colonies.
On December 16th 1773, with HMS Dartmouth, HMS Beaver and HMS Eleanor waiting to unload in Boston harbour, Samuel Adams and some seven thousand angry residents gathered at the Old South Meeting House to demand that Governor Thomas Hutchinson send the ships home. He refused; and that evening, protestors dumped three hundred and forty-two chests of the Company’s tea into the water.
Next day, Samuel Adams’s second cousin John wrote admiringly in his diary, “The People should never rise, without doing something to be remembered”. Perhaps John was thinking of it when he was one of the five men who presented the Declaration of Independence to Congress on June 28th, 1776.
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Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Achieve. Right. Thousand.
2 Into. Nation. Such.
3 Custom. Man. Prevail.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Opposites Find in Think and Speak
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the words below. We have suggested some possible answers; see if you can find any others.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1.
Allow.
2.
Full.
3.
Give.
4.
Next.
5.
Out.
6.
Refuse.
7.
Still.
8.
Wealth.
9.
Work.
Variations: 1.instead of opposites, suggest words of similar meaning (synonyms). 2.use a word and its opposite in the same sentence. 3.suggest any 5 opposites formed by adding un-.
Prepositions Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below may be followed by one or more prepositions. Compose your own sentences to show which they might be. Some prepositions are given underneath.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Wait. 2. Write. 3. Angry. 4. Prevail.
Selected Prepositions
About. Against. Among. At. By. For. From. In. Into. Of. On. Out. Over. Through. To. Towards. Upon. With.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
shts (5+1)
sheets. shoots. shots. shouts. shuts.
shiatsu.
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