How the Irish Conquered Massachusetts.
Without an army etc, surely you are mad! Mr. Charton, sir. Where did you get this?
Massachusetts is the most Irish state in the United States. How did it get that way?
There is a book by historian William Shannon called the American Irish. He dedicates two full chapters to the Boston Irish. He states the Irish landing in Boston could not have picked a worse place to go except for maybe Charleston, South Carolina.
Why Boston? It was less expensive than New York or Philadelphia. Only New Orleans was cheaper and the Irish had to be "tricked" into going there. More on that later.
Thousands of Irish famine survivors landed in Boston, much to the horror of the Boston Brahmins. The Brahmins were the descendants of the Puritan founders. People with names such as Adams were still prominent. They did not like Catholics and saw they had been buried under this mass.
According to Shannon, In cities such as New York and Philadelphia, the Irish grabbed political power through skill and unlike other immigrants already speaking English. In Boston, it was sheer numbers. The Brahmins retreated into their clubs hoarding their money. Basically the deal was, "you can be elected to office, but we control the money." The present Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino is the first non Irish Mayor in 90 years.
When I moved to Boston from New York in 1982, I saw things that had become rare in New York. In South Boston, at Broadway and F Streets, there was a mural of IRA fighters. There was money collected for the IRA and some gun running. After all, Boston is a port. For more on that read T.J. English's book Paddywhacked.
Which leads me briefly to how Irish showed up in NewOrleans. Simple. They were tricked into going there, being told it was not that far to New York and Boston. The Irish died like flies in sub tropical New Orleans, getting the worse jobs. Slavery was still going on and slaves were property. Their lives at the time were considered "more valuble." Amazing, huh?
What does this have to do with my Moriarty character? I have a chapter take place in Boston.
Massachusetts is the most Irish state in the United States. How did it get that way?
There is a book by historian William Shannon called the American Irish. He dedicates two full chapters to the Boston Irish. He states the Irish landing in Boston could not have picked a worse place to go except for maybe Charleston, South Carolina.
Why Boston? It was less expensive than New York or Philadelphia. Only New Orleans was cheaper and the Irish had to be "tricked" into going there. More on that later.
Thousands of Irish famine survivors landed in Boston, much to the horror of the Boston Brahmins. The Brahmins were the descendants of the Puritan founders. People with names such as Adams were still prominent. They did not like Catholics and saw they had been buried under this mass.
According to Shannon, In cities such as New York and Philadelphia, the Irish grabbed political power through skill and unlike other immigrants already speaking English. In Boston, it was sheer numbers. The Brahmins retreated into their clubs hoarding their money. Basically the deal was, "you can be elected to office, but we control the money." The present Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino is the first non Irish Mayor in 90 years.
When I moved to Boston from New York in 1982, I saw things that had become rare in New York. In South Boston, at Broadway and F Streets, there was a mural of IRA fighters. There was money collected for the IRA and some gun running. After all, Boston is a port. For more on that read T.J. English's book Paddywhacked.
Which leads me briefly to how Irish showed up in NewOrleans. Simple. They were tricked into going there, being told it was not that far to New York and Boston. The Irish died like flies in sub tropical New Orleans, getting the worse jobs. Slavery was still going on and slaves were property. Their lives at the time were considered "more valuble." Amazing, huh?
What does this have to do with my Moriarty character? I have a chapter take place in Boston.
Labels: Boston Massachusetts
posted by CactusCorner at 2:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home