FAQ and Credits

Q: Wasn’t the way Bostonians celebrated Guy Fawkes’ Night terribly bigoted?

Yes. The “Pope-Night” revelry carried an undeniable message for any Catholics who happened to see it: their faith excluded them from mainstream British society. The parades also reinforced the celebrants’ belief that their patriotism and Protestantism were linked.

One of the momentous shifts of the Revolutionary period was away from an official church linked to the government to wider religious freedom and equality—but that’s certainly not what most of Boston’s Patriots set out to achieve.

Q: Where can I learn more about “Pope-Night” in Boston?

Please check out the Further Reading. Because the processions on the 5th of November became intertwined with the anti-Stamp Act protests of 1765, the holiday is also described in many general books about Boston’s pre-Revolutionary turmoil.

Q: Who created this website?

This website was commissioned by The Bostonian Society, the Boston historical society that operates the Old State House Museum. Come visit that museum on State Street in the center of Boston. That very building once hosted Boston town meetings, the Massachusetts legislature, and the Massachusetts high court, and it overlooks the site of the Boston Massacre.

This website was assembled by J. L. Bell, proprietor of the Boston 1775 blog, with support from Samantha Nelson and Nicole DeLaria at The Bostonian Society; David Haugaard and R. A. Friedman at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Charlene Peacock and Linda Wisniewski at the Library Company of Philadelphia; Peter Benes of the Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife; the American Memory project at the Library of Congress; Patricia Bradley, who offered the original pointer to the Du Simitière drawings; several helpful advance readers; and Alfred F. Young, who offers unflagging encouragement.

Q: Why does this website use Blogger?

This site was designed as an experiment in using the flexible architecture of blogging to create a online exhibit that could be easily updated and expanded. It is based on the Blogger platform and the Herbert template by Jason Sutter.