They Burnt Tolerable Well: The Tea Party, a Shipwreck, and Boston’s First Street Lamps

Описание: In the 1770s, Boston was in a state of transformation and upheaval. While we mostly think of the American Revolution as the driver of this whirlwind of change, a technological revolution was happening at the same time. The introduction of street lamps in Boston had a profound effect on how people behaved at night. The political revolution and the technological revolution were intertwined, with the effects of one impacting the other — including at pivotal moments like the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.

Jake Sconyers, the host of HUB History, joined us for a deep dive into the history of Boston’s street lamps during the Revolutionary era. Jake delved into these “burning” questions:

– How did Boston’s very first street lamps survive a shipwreck and the Boston Tea Party?
– Why did Boston decide to buy English oil lamps for the streets but fuel them with American whale oil?
– Why did Boston vote to let its new street lamps sit dark after just a few months of illumination?
– How did the Boston Port Act affect the cost of street lighting?

Jake Sconyers is the longtime host of HUB History, a Boston history podcast that goes far beyond the Freedom Trail. He’s a freelance podcast producer, and a former Boston tour guide and docent at Roxbury’s Shirley-Eustis House.