A History of The Boston Newsletter

The Boston Newsletter, established in 1704, was the first newspaper in America to continuously put out a weekly issue.[1] The first issue printed by the postmaster John Campbell was nothing special, just a single sheet with text on both sides, but with time the paper became well established.[2] The Boston Newsletter ran continuously for about 72 years from 1704 to 1776 and was the only newspaper to continue publishing issues during the opening phase of the Revolution.[3] The newsletter regularly reported on religious news and “the balance of power between Catholic and Protestant states.”[4] The first few issues of the newsletter primarily contained news from England and advocated “pro-British” sympathies, unsurprising since America was still governed by England at the time.[5] As time went on, The Boston Newsletter began reporting on more local current events, especially those pertaining to piracy and pirate activity. While there is no specific structure for The Boston Newsletter still standing today, the general area of its location, Washington Street, is historically rich with many of the Freedom Trail locations situated relatively close to one another, including The Old Corner Bookstore and the King’s Chapel and Burying Ground.

The long history of printing in America dates to 1638 when the first printing press arrived to Massachusetts from England.[6] Before there was printing and newspapers, face to face communication and written letters were the most efficient means of communication.[7] All of the early newspapers were different in their own way. Some reported more on current events while others focused on literary works, however, they all followed the standard format of newspapers being printed in England.[8] For example, these newspapers were typically two pages, the first news section was foreign news, followed by a section detailing news from the American colonies.[9]

The first publisher of The Boston Newsletter was postmaster John Campbell. Originally from Scotland, Campbell moved to America where he put down his roots and opened a bookshop in Boston.[10] Aside from his job at The Boston Newsletter, John Campbell also served as a justice of the peace for Suffolk county.[11] Upon the establishment of the newsletter, Campbell also worked as the postmaster alongside Bartholomew Green until 1718. After Campbell retired after sixteen years, Green took over as postmaster and head publisher for the newsletter. Bartholomew Green had been working as a printer at The Boston Newsletter since its birth, and went operatedthe newsletter until his death in 1732.[12] Similar to other family operated newspapers in early America, Bartholomew Green passed down the overseeing of the newsletter to his son-in-law John Draper.[13]

The Boston Newsletter reported on many maritime events and activities, including many stories about piracy. These piratical stories were regularly covered because pirates interrupted trade with England and the other colonies. One can assume that these stories were prioritized in the media because not only were they entertaining, but because the Government wanted to create public shame for those who turned pirate. The newspaper detailed the Government's public hangings of captured pirates. The Newsletter covered stories on the movement of pirates as they terrorized merchant and naval ships in the Atlantic ocean. The information primarily came from firsthand accounts and interactions from sea captains and sailors who described their experiences to John Campbell once they came into port in Boston.[14] Many of these accounts involved the infamous Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, one of the most brutal pirates known to sail the Atlantic ocean. One issue in particular recounted hand-to-hand combat between Blackbeard and another seaman which ultimately ended in Blackbeard’s bloody decapitation. According to the issue, after the fight was over “Teach’s body was thrown overboard, and his Head put on the Ballpit.”[15] The newspaper's reporting on pirate activity during the 18th century undoubtedly demonstrated bias against pirates who were depicted as ruthless criminals who acted senselessly.

The Boston Newsletter and other newspapers in the early American colonies shaped the way Americans consumed media and their understanding of pirates. Coverage of pirates sold newspapers and helped to create a local print culture which changed the course of American history.

— Mae Blackwell

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[1] “Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791.” Massachusetts Historical Society: www.masshist.org/database/186.
[2] “Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791.” Massachusetts Historical Society: www.masshist.org/database/186.
[3] “Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791.” Massachusetts Historical Society: www.masshist.org/database/186.
[4] Thomas S. Kidd, “‘Let Hell and Rome Do Their Worst’: World News, Anti-Catholicism, and International Protestantism in Early-Eighteenth-Century Boston” The New England Quarterly, June 1, 2003. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1559905?seq=6#metadata_info_tab_contents.
[5] “Published by Authority: The Boston News-Letter, 1704-1776.” Readex, April 17, 2015. https://www.readex.com/blog/published-authority-boston-news-letter-1704-1776.
[6] “The Boston News-Letter.” Omeka RSS. Accessed October 29, 2019. http://americanantiquarian.org/earlyamericannewsmedia/exhibits/show/news-in-colonial-america/item/116.
[7] McIntyre, Sheila.”I Heare it so Variously Reported.” December 1998. Accessed October 14th, 2019.https://www.jstor.org/stable/366604?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
[8] “The Boston News-Letter.” Omeka RSS. Accessed October 29, 2019. http://americanantiquarian.org/earlyamericannewsmedia/exhibits/show/news-in-colonial-america/item/116.
[9] “The Boston News-Letter.” Omeka RSS. Accessed October 29, 2019. http://americanantiquarian.org/earlyamericannewsmedia/exhibits/show/news-in-colonial-america/item/116.
[10] “Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791.” Massachusetts Historical Society: www.masshist.org/database/186.
[11] “Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791.” Massachusetts Historical Society: www.masshist.org/database/186.
[12] “Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791.” Massachusetts Historical Society: www.masshist.org/database/186.
[13] “Massachusetts Historical Society. Founded 1791.” Massachusetts Historical Society: www.masshist.org/database/186.
[14] “Published by Authority: The Boston News-Letter, 1704-1776.” Readex, April 17, 2015. https://www.readex.com/blog/published-authority-boston-news-letter-1704-1776.
[15] “Published by Authority: The Boston News-Letter, 1704-1776.” Readex, April 17, 2015. https://www.readex.com/blog/published-authority-boston-news-letter-1704-1776.

Pictured: The first issue of the Boston News-letter. An eighteenth-century print shop from Diderot's Encyclopédie (Paris, 1751-2).

**To go to First Church Boston (Site 5), head northeast on Washington Street towards State Street. The destination will be on the left.**