Mob attacks a grain ship about to leave Boston Harbor.

(April) The mob’s action is prompted by a food shortage. Its complaint, according to Gary Nash, is that the merchant Andrew Belcher, “chose to export grain to the Caribbean, at a handsome profit, rather than sell it for a smaller profit to hungry townspeople.” The next day a group of 50 men unsuccessfully attempts to force the captain to come ashore. Some of them are arrested but released without being charged. A similar riot occurs in 1711.*