Old Granary - Bread Riot

1 Park St

The actual church was built well after the American Revolution. But this was once the site of a public grain storage building called the Old Granary. In the early 1700s Rich merchants were hoarding food to falsely inflate the prices and manufacture a shortage and the poor were unable to get any attention within Parliament to care for their plight. As profits continued to be more important than human life people protested in what became known as the Boston Bread Riot. They stormed Andrew Belcher’s warehouse and shot and wounded the Lt governor. Due to this the Old Granary was built to support the impoverished and legislation was created which still went ignored by greedy merchants leading to 14 riots for food shortages during the American Revolution. This was amongst 103 riots in Boston from 1700-1976. To put Boston’s riotous nature in numbers, between 1700-1764 NY had 4 riots, Philadelphia had 6, and Boston had 28.

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The church stands on land that was once part of Boston Common. The Puritans built a public grain storage building, a long wooden structure called the Old Granary, in 1729 in the space now occupied by the church. Adjacent buildings included a workhouse, an almshouse, and a prison to house criminals and the insane. The Granary Burying Ground occupied a spot behind it since 1660.

During Queen Anne’s war from 1702 to 1713 where poor citizens were fighting to the north and struggling at home. Rich merchants were hoarding food to inflate the price and exporting grains to foreign markets for higher profit. The poor were not land owners, not able to vote, and being exploited. Andrew Belcher was credited for manufacturing this shortage and three of the riots were directed at him and his fleet of merchant ships. A common sentiment among the people was that their welfare was more important to sustaining the populace than the riches of the elite few who manufactured the crisis. They petitioned legislation who ignored them.

Food shortages persisted through the decade aggravated by a Boston Fire in 1711. This killed several people and left 110 families homeless. Despite all this unrest Belcher continued to hoard grain at the expense of human life.

The Boston Bread riot - May 1713 200 locals rioted on Boston Common then stormed his warehouse and shot and wounded the lieutenant governor when he attempted to stop them. This affected legislation that prohibited grain exports during shortages and set fixed prices and standardized sizes, as well as a public granary for disadvantaged individuals. Despite the changes merchants continued to hoard and manufacture shortages and exploit the working poor in pursuit of profits throughout the American Revolution.

Boston had a well-deserved reputation for street violence. Between 1700 and 1764 Ny had 4 riots, Philadelphia had 6 and Boston had 28 according to historian Jack Tager. Tager counted 103 Boston riots from 1700 to 1976. Merchant hoarding inspired 14 food riots during the American revolution. Boston’s economy was stagnant and there was a widening gulf between the classes. Only property owners could vote so the common people “voted with their feet” and rioted. King James 2nd gave Bostonians a convenient target for their ire. He consolidated the northern colonies into New England and sent Sir Edmund Andros to rein them in. Andros cracked down on forbidden activities such as smuggling and trading with the French and Dutch. He held an Anglican service in a Puritan meeting house. Andros was imprisoned and deported, and with ever-changing aristocracy, King George was replaced, so they got away with it.

-Source Links-

https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/bostons-poor-riot-over-cost-of-bread.html

https://historyasilearn.com/2020/07/11/the-boston-bread-riots/

https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-female-food-riots-of-the-american-revolution/