Melted Majesty
These days, most news stories about public statues consider them as objects of destructive rather than constructive acts, but 250 years ago, subscribers to the Maryland Gazette read about the […]
Warm Zeal in the Cause of Liberty
For the past few weeks, I’ve been looking at the dispute between Annapolis merchants Williams and Company and the local Committee of Inspection that played out on the pages of […]
First Notorious Offenders
In today’s technologically advanced and politically divided world, virtual skirmishes, battles, and full-blown wars play out in real time across our social media platforms. Response times between combatants are often […]
Take the Beam Out of Thine Own Eye
When the local Committee of Inspection published a harsh report against Williams and Company in the July 26, 1770 Maryland Gazette, the members must have known they would hear back […]
Such Despicable Characters
My June 11th blog introduced merchant Thomas Williams and his partners as new players to watch in the real-life drama of Annapolis 250 years ago. Back in 1770, Williams and […]
Sky-Rockets in Flight
My Fourth of July was a bit out of the ordinary this year. I’m usually at the William Paca House and Garden shortly after 6 am on Independence Day, getting […]
The Road Not Taken
No one knew it at the time, but on July 5, 1770, America was one day less than six years away from declaring independence. Looking back from 2020 with the […]
Say Their Names.
When conducting research using 18th-century newspapers such as the Maryland Gazette, it’s easy to get in the flow of looking for particular items of interest and glossing over less pertinent […]
“Liberty and Loyalty…stand or fall together”
Earlier this month, I wrote about the June 1770 arrival in Annapolis of a ship from Rhode Island, where some residents had reportedly abandoned their boycott of English goods, thereby […]
The merchant doth protest too much, methinks
In last week’s episode of “Annapolis 250 Years Ago,” a ship had just arrived from Rhode Island, where it was reported “that the Inhabitants of that Colony have broke through […]
What’d We Miss?
As Thomas Jefferson sings at one point in the musical Hamilton, “Can we get back to politics?” When we last looked at the British taxation and American boycott story of […]
That’s Entertainment!
OK, who’s ready for a little break from political, economic, and public health stories? For the past seven weeks, most of my blogs have focused on the repercussions of British […]