A World in a Picture: The Boston Massacre

Remember that time when 11 people got shot and killed or injured for throwing snowballs at soldiers? I do.

The Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. Tension had been evident since the soldiers appeared in October of 1768, and the colonists were enraged about the many laws put in place by the British, the Townsend Acts. It began with the throwing of snowballs and stones at the soldiers and ended with the death of 5 colonists. Although it wasn't a actual battle, really fired up the colonists. The thought of British soldiers firing at an unarmed crowd of citizens made them angry. I agree with them; of course the colonists shouldn't have been provoking the soldiers but did they deserve to be shot at?

 

News of this event spread throughout the colonies along with this image. My first impression of it was something like, "This looks like it could be a legit representation of how it actually happened." But when I looked at it more closely I realized it was a bit off. Where is the snow that the colonists were throwing? Why does it look like the British are being instructed to fire? Why is it not dark? Everything that Paul Revere drew in this engraving was meant to shine light on the event, in order to get the colonists to fight for their independence.