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Boston History

Pirates, Privateers & the Dangerous Waters of Colonial Boston

Boston’s harbor connected the town to an Atlantic world of merchants, privateers, smugglers, sailors—and pirates.
Nathan Strickland

Published

8 months ago

on

Pirates, Privateers & the Dangerous Waters of Colonial Boston
Boston Made, Inc.Office of the Founder & CEO
From the desk of Nathan StricklandBoston, Massachusetts ·

Dear Sir or Madam,

31 Days of Boston — Day 6

Boston’s harbor connected the town to an Atlantic world of merchants, privateers, smugglers, sailors—and pirates.

Boston’s early wealth faced east. Beyond the harbor lay an Atlantic economy crowded with merchant ships, naval vessels, privateers, smugglers, fishermen, and pirates. The sea could make a fortune or erase one.

Privateering blurred the modern distinction between commerce and warfare. During conflicts, governments authorized privately owned vessels to capture enemy shipping. Investors could profit handsomely from prizes, while crews accepted extraordinary risk.

Piracy was different, but the worlds overlapped. Boston merchants and officials operated within a maritime system where contraband, wartime seizure, customs enforcement, and illicit trade could collide. Taverns near the waterfront filled with sailors carrying news from the Caribbean and Europe.

This maritime Boston is essential to understanding the revolutionary city that came later. Arguments over customs duties, smuggling, imperial regulation, and naval power were not abstractions. They touched livelihoods. Boston learned to think globally because its harbor made the wider Atlantic world part of everyday life.

Research & Further Reading

For deeper research, consult authoritative collections including the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston Public Library, National Park Service, Library of Congress, Massachusetts Archives, and relevant museum and university collections. Readers should verify contested details against primary and scholarly sources.

Explore More from Boston Made

Boston Made is an independent editorial and archival platform. Historical stories are intended to encourage further exploration of primary sources, museums, libraries, and scholarly research.

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Nathan Strickland

Founder & CEO of Boston Made, Inc., a Boston-based media and business portfolio company. I lead Boston Made's independent, hyperlocal coverage of Boston's economy, businesses, and neighborhoods, alongside a growing portfolio of Boston-rooted brands — including Boston Made Pets, where my passion for dog wearables and canine wellness lives on. I’m an avid reader and journaler who believes in reporting that's closer to home.

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Boston History

Boston’s Streetcar Suburbs

Nathan Strickland

Published

2 months ago

on

August 8, 2026

By

Boston's Streetcar Suburbs
Boston Made, Inc.Office of the Founder & CEO
From the desk of Nathan StricklandBoston, Massachusetts ·

Dear Sir or Madam,

Boston Made Chronicles

As electric streetcars spread in the late 1800s, neighborhoods like Dorchester and Jamaica Plain grew rapidly into Boston’s first streetcar suburbs, shaping the city’s residential landscape..

As electric streetcars spread in the late 1800s, neighborhoods like Dorchester and Jamaica Plain grew rapidly into Boston’s first streetcar suburbs, shaping the city’s residential landscape.

It’s one more thread in the 400-year story of a city that keeps reinventing itself — the same story Boston Made was named to carry forward.

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Boston History

The South End’s Victorian Rowhouses

Nathan Strickland

Published

2 months ago

on

August 7, 2026

By

The South End's Victorian Rowhouses
Boston Made, Inc.Office of the Founder & CEO
From the desk of Nathan StricklandBoston, Massachusetts ·

Dear Sir or Madam,

Boston Made Chronicles

Built in the mid-1800s on newly filled land, Boston’s South End became one of the largest intact Victorian rowhouse districts in the country, later a haven for artists and a diverse LGBTQ community..

Built in the mid-1800s on newly filled land, Boston’s South End became one of the largest intact Victorian rowhouse districts in the country, later a haven for artists and a diverse LGBTQ community.

It’s one more thread in the 400-year story of a city that keeps reinventing itself — the same story Boston Made was named to carry forward.

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Boston History

The Hatch Shell and the Boston Pops’ Fourth of July

Nathan Strickland

Published

2 months ago

on

August 5, 2026

By

The Hatch Shell and the Boston Pops' Fourth of July
Boston Made, Inc.Office of the Founder & CEO
From the desk of Nathan StricklandBoston, Massachusetts ·

Dear Sir or Madam,

Boston Made Chronicles

Since the mid-20th century, the Boston Pops’ Fourth of July concert at the Hatch Shell has drawn hundreds of thousands to the Esplanade for fireworks over the Charles River..

Since the mid-20th century, the Boston Pops’ Fourth of July concert at the Hatch Shell has drawn hundreds of thousands to the Esplanade for fireworks over the Charles River.

It’s one more thread in the 400-year story of a city that keeps reinventing itself — the same story Boston Made was named to carry forward.

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