African AmericansNew FieldsWorld History A colored engraving of enslaved African peoples cutting sugar cane in a Caribbean setting.

Rum, Molasses, and Slavery in Boston

Boston’s rapid development in the seventeenth century would not have been possible without the labor of enslaved Africans, which allowed the construction of an integrated political economy linked primarily to markets of the West Indies. Boston served as a center of the slave trade and port of entry for enslaved Africans. By the early 1700s, the New England Colonies were deeply involved in an economic alliance with the sugar-producing West Indies, driven by the abduction and enslavement of Africans and the trade of raw materials, molasses, and rum.

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BusinessImmigrant NeighborhoodModernNeighborhood Life A black and white photograph of a street, with early 20th-century cars going down it. A short neoclassical firehouse is on the right, and a larger white building on the left.

Bowdoin Square, Part 2: 20th & 21st Centuries

Bowdoin Square has gone through many phases, including rapid development, growing population, changing fortunes, urban renewal, and attempts at revitalization. Today the name survives mainly in the name of an MBTA station, but examination of Bowdoin Square provides insight into two and a half centuries of Boston history. This article, the second part of two, covers the history of the square in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

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BusinessNeighborhood LifeWest Boston A drawing of a nineteenth-century city square. Houses look inwards to an open space, where there are horse-drawn carriages.

Bowdoin Square, Part 1: 18th & 19th Centuries

Bowdoin Square has gone through many phases, including rapid development, growing population, changing fortunes, urban renewal, and attempts at revitalization. Today the name survives mainly in the name of an MBTA station, but examination of Bowdoin Square provides insight into two and a half centuries of Boston history. This article, the first part of two, covers the history of the square in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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Immigrant NeighborhoodNeighborhood Life A black and white photograph of a middle-aged man in a coat and hat, standing against a brick wall.

The Legend of Abraham ‘Al’ Tabachnik: A Voice That Echoed Through the West End’s Streets

Abraham “Al” Tabachnik (sometimes spelled Tabachnick, Tabatchnik, or Tabarchnik) was a Russian immigrant, known both for his eccentricities and powerful voice. From the early 1920s to the early 1960s, he roamed the West End’s streets, filling them with music. Recollections of Tabachnik, found throughout West End oral histories and the West Ender Newsletter, illustrate the impact of the West End’s tight-knit community on him, and his impact on the community.

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