The Danger of Pope Night in 1765
On that date young British males traditionally observed Guy Fawkes Day or Pope Night by carting around effigies of the nation’s political and religious villains and burning them. Boston’s youth took that patriotic display two steps further than anyone else by dividing into South End and North End gangs and having a big brawl after sunset.
In 1764, one of the Pope Night carts ran over and killed a little boy named Brown, described by different sources as five to nine years old. That happened early in the day, and the holiday proceeded anyway, including the brawl. Tradition, you know.
In the following August, Pope Night rituals spread into the town’s anti-Stamp Act protests: twin effigies hanged and burned, processions through the center of town, bonfires. But instead of just threatening to break windows if householders didn’t treat them well, the crowds broke into three or four mansions and smashed all the furniture.
Sheriff Stephen Greenleaf detained the captain of the South End gang, a shoemaker named Ebenezer Mackintosh, after the riot against Lt. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson on 26 August. But then the town authorities worried that arrest would only rile up the rioters, so they set Mackintosh free. He was prominent in the anti-Stamp demonstrations at Liberty Tree in the following months. But what would he, his comrades, and their cross-town rivals do on Pope Night?
Mackintosh seems to have enjoyed his new role as a political leader and the respect that went with it. He probably appreciated the town leaders’ concerns about keeping Boston’s reputation safe. He definitely appreciated what they offered the gangs if they behaved well.
So Mackintosh made a deal with Henry Swift, captain of the North End gang. The young printer John Boyle described the result: “A Union established between the South and North End Popes. Capt. McIntosh on the Part of the South, and Capt. Swift, on the Part of the North. . . . This Union and one other more extensive [the Stamp Act Congress?], may be looked upon as the only happy Effecte arising from the Stamp Act.”
TOMORROW: A new way to celebrate the fifth of November.
2 comments:
Quick question about the following detail: "Mackintosh made a deal with Henry Swift, captain of the North End gang." Do you know any details about where that conversation took place? I just finished Sherman's "The Green Dragon Tavern: Ancient Colonial Tavern on Union Street, 'Headquarters of the Revolution.'" In it, he says, "At a huge banquet held in the Green Dragon, Sam Adams brought together two rival gangs of young men, the North Enders and the South Enders--and persuaded them to unite as the Sons of Liberty...the peace banquet which united these warring factions cost $1,000...it was John Hancock who footed the bill." In Isaac Winslow's letter from 10 days after Pope's Day 1765, he said, "'the principal gentlemen of the town' – The Popes (meaning probably, the South end and north end processions) 'paraded the Streets together.'" Appreciate all you do! I knew turning to Boston 1775 and your expertise was the best way to answer this question. Thanks!
I don’t know the details of the deal between Mackintosh and Swift, and I doubt anyone else today knows, either. We learn about Mackintosh’s activity mostly from gentlemen passing along information they’ve obtained second or third hand.
Frankly, the passage you quoted from John M. Sherman’s The Green Dragon Tavern sounds like he just threw together names that became famous later. In 1765 the St. Andrew’s Lodge hadn’t yet acquired the Green Dragon Tavern to make into their meeting-place. John Hancock had just entered politics; his big arrival as a public benefactor came the following spring when the town celebrated the repeal of the Stamp Act. Samuel (not Sam) Adams was not yet the most prominent Whig leader. If that publication quotes a specific price for the banquet, it really should cite a source. Does it?
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