Brief history of immigrants and immigrant communities in Boston.

1. The Many Faces of Boston
A Broad-brush History of
Boston’s Immigrant Heritage

2. The original residents of Massachusetts
Tens of thousands of Native Americans lived in
Massachusetts.
Initial contact with Europeans brought new diseases that
wiped out 90% of the population in 1616 and 1617.
Today, the 2,000 or so surviving Wampanoag descendants
still live in Plymouth county.

3. 1620
First Europeans Settle in Massachusetts
Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom, sail for the New World
and establish a colony in Plymouth in 1620.
Puritans arrive in 1630 and settle in what will soon become
the City of Boston.

4. 1638
First Africans are brought to Boston
by force
Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth were the first colonies to
authorize slavery through legislation.
Boston later became one of the important centers of the
abolitionist movement.
In 1781, Massachusetts was the
first state to abolish slavery.

5. 1715
French Huguenots and Scots Seek Freedom
Boston seen as a place of religious freedom for many
Protestant groups persecuted in Europe.
Some Huguenots anglicize their names as they assimilate,
like Apollis Rivoire, father of Paul Revere.
Boston History & Innovation Collaborative© for We Are Boston

6. 1847
The first Chinese student brought to Boston
by missionaries graduates and goes to Yale
Yung Wing graduated from Yale in 1854. The he went
back to China and persuaded the government to sponsor
students annually to study in America.
Boston's Chinatown was formed in the 1870's after the
completion of the transcontinental railroad brought former
workers to the East Coast.

7. 1850’s
Whaling industry attracts new migration
Cape Verdeans migrate to the United States to work in
the whaling industry.
Today, 2 Massachusetts colleges- Roxbury Community
College and Bridgewater State College- are headed by
Cape Verdeans.

8. 1895
W.E.B. DuBois is the first African-
American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard
In 1912, W.E.B. DuBois establishes the Boston Branch
of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), the first official and now the
oldest branch in the country.

9. 1898
U.S. troops invade Puerto Rico as part of
the Spanish-American-Cuban War
The Census in 1860 and 1880 showed only three Puerto
Rican living in Boston.
After the war, Spain was forced to cede Puerto Rico,
which later became a United States Territory with
Commonwealth status.

10. 1900
More and more immigrants drawn to the
American Dream
From 1895 we see waves of Italians, Greeks, Russian
Jews, Armenians, Polish, French and English Canadians
-small number of immigrants also come from Jamaica
and Barbados, and Chinese from California.
In 1900, 32% of Massachusetts residents –and 41%
of the workforce- are immigrants.

11. 1917
Jones-Shafroth Act confers U.S. citizenship
on Puerto Ricans
In 1988, Nelson Merced becomes the first Puerto Rican
and Latino/a elected to State-wide office in
Massachusetts.
Today, Puerto Ricans are the third largest ancestry group
in the City of Boston, behind Irish and Italians.

12. 1925
New Immigration Laws Close the Gates
The next four decades are characterized by very low
levels of immigration.

13. 1955
Martin Luther King, Jr. receives a Ph.D.
from Boston University.
In April 1965, Dr. King led a march from Roxbury to the
Boston Common to protest school segregation in Boston.
Dr. King spoke at the State House and two months later
the legislature passed The Racial Imbalance Act requiring
school desegregation.

14. 1960
Haitians migrate to escape the rule of
“Papa Doc” Duvalier
Today, Haitians are the 9th largest ancestry group in
Massachusetts and simultaneously make up almost 10%
of Boston’s New Bostonian population.

15. 1965
Boston becomes home to many groups
After 1965 the gates open to the entire world and we see
more Latin Americans, Caribbean Islanders, Southeast
Asians, West Indians, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Thai,
Koreans and many more.

16. 1985
Vietnamese refugees settle in the Boston
area in the 1980s
In the early 1990s, Vietnam allowed its former political
prisoners to leave the country.
By 2000, the Vietnamese community numbered
10,000, mostly in settled in Dorchester.

17. 2000
Brazil becomes the largest source of
immigrants to Massachusetts
From 2000 to 2003 nearly 1 out of 5 immigrants entering
the Commonwealth was Brazilian.

18. 2000
Minority groups have become
Boston’s new “majority”
Latinos, Asians, African Americans, together with other
minorities make up 50.5% of the city’s total population.

19. 2000
People from more than 100 countries
call Boston home.
Irish, Italians and Puerto Ricans are still the largest
ancestry groups in the City.
Haitians, Dominicans, Chinese, Vietnamese,
Salvadorians, Cape Verdeans, Jamaicans and Colombians
make up the largest groups of New Bostonians.

20. 2000
New Bostonians speak more than
140 languages
The most common languages in the City are
Spanish, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Portuguese and Cape
Verdean Creole, Vietnamese, French and Italian.

21. 2000
Boston’s neighborhoods become
increasingly diverse
The neighborhoods that have experienced the most dramatic
change are East Boston, Roslindale and Allston/Brighton.
East Boston has the largest proportion of immigrants, while
Allston/Brighton has the largest number of foreign-born
residents.

22. 2000
Despite this, not all New Bostonian’s find
it easy to thrive
26,000 households in Boston are linguistically isolated
(in which no person aged 14 years and over speaks
English at least “very well”).

23. 2004
Immigrants keep Massachusetts Growing
Immigrants account for 14% of the population
and 17% of the workforce.
If not for immigrants, the State’s population and labor
force would have shrunk from just five years earlier.

24. 2004
New Bostonians play an increasing role
in the local economy
Immigrants spend, from their after-tax earnings,
$3 billion annually.
These annual expenditures generate a regional product of
$2.8 billion and $823 million in State and Federal taxes.

25. 2006
Immigrants are entrepreneurs
Immigrants own more than 8,000 small businesses in the
greater Boston area in different industry sectors.
Combined, these businesses represent more than $5.5
billion in annual sales and employ nearly 37,000
people.

26. 2030
Immigrants will be critical in filling
future labor gaps
76 million “baby boomers” will retire in 2030
while only 46 million native-born workers will have
entered the workforce.

27. Boston has always been a
gateway for immigrants.
In fact, 1 in 6 U.S. citizens trace their ancestry
back to the port of Boston. Immigrants have
helped make Boston a world-class city. That
proud tradition continues today. Our future
depends upon how well we embrace the city’s
growing diversity.
Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston

28. The original residents of Massachusetts
Tens of thousands of Native Americans lived in
Massachusetts.
Initial contact with Europeans brought new diseases that
wiped out 90% of the population in 1616 and 1617.
Today, the 2,000 or so surviving Wampanoag descendants
still live in Plymouth county.

29. 1620
First Europeans Settle in Massachusetts
Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom, sail for the New World
and establish a colony in Plymouth in 1620.
Puritans arrive in 1630 and settle in what will soon become
the City of Boston.

30. 1638
First Africans are brought to Boston
by force
Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth were the first colonies to
authorize slavery through legislation.
Boston later became one of the important centers of the
abolitionist movement.
In 1781, Massachusetts was the
first state to abolish slavery.

31. 1715
French Huguenots and Scots Seek Freedom
Boston seen as a place of religious freedom for many
Protestant groups persecuted in Europe.
Some Huguenots anglicize their names as they assimilate,
like Apollis Rivoire, father of Paul Revere.
Boston History & Innovation Collaborative© for We Are Boston

32. 1847
The first Chinese student brought to Boston
by missionaries graduates and goes to Yale
Yung Wing graduated from Yale in 1854. The he went
back to China and persuaded the government to sponsor
students annually to study in America.
Boston's Chinatown was formed in the 1870's after the
completion of the transcontinental railroad brought former
workers to the East Coast.

33. 1850’s
Whaling industry attracts new migration
Cape Verdeans migrate to the United States to work in
the whaling industry.
Today, 2 Massachusetts colleges- Roxbury Community
College and Bridgewater State College- are headed by
Cape Verdeans.

34. 1895
W.E.B. DuBois is the first African-
American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard
In 1912, W.E.B. DuBois establishes the Boston Branch
of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), the first official and now the
oldest branch in the country.

35. 1898
U.S. troops invade Puerto Rico as part of
the Spanish-American-Cuban War
The Census in 1860 and 1880 showed only three Puerto
Rican living in Boston.
After the war, Spain was forced to cede Puerto Rico,
which later became a United States Territory with
Commonwealth status.

36. 1900
More and more immigrants drawn to the
American Dream
From 1895 we see waves of Italians, Greeks, Russian
Jews, Armenians, Polish, French and English Canadians
-small number of immigrants also come from Jamaica
and Barbados, and Chinese from California.
In 1900, 32% of Massachusetts residents –and 41%
of the workforce- are immigrants.

37. 1917
Jones-Shafroth Act confers U.S. citizenship
on Puerto Ricans
In 1988, Nelson Merced becomes the first Puerto Rican
and Latino/a elected to State-wide office in
Massachusetts.
Today, Puerto Ricans are the third largest ancestry group
in the City of Boston, behind Irish and Italians.

38. 1925
New Immigration Laws Close the Gates
The next four decades are characterized by very low
levels of immigration.

39. 1955
Martin Luther King, Jr. receives a Ph.D.
from Boston University.
In April 1965, Dr. King led a march from Roxbury to the
Boston Common to protest school segregation in Boston.
Dr. King spoke at the State House and two months later
the legislature passed The Racial Imbalance Act requiring
school desegregation.

40. 1960
Haitians migrate to escape the rule of
“Papa Doc” Duvalier
Today, Haitians are the 9th largest ancestry group in
Massachusetts and simultaneously make up almost 10%
of Boston’s New Bostonian population.

41. 1965
Boston becomes home to many groups
After 1965 the gates open to the entire world and we see
more Latin Americans, Caribbean Islanders, Southeast
Asians, West Indians, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Thai,
Koreans and many more.

42. 1985
Vietnamese refugees settle in the Boston
area in the 1980s
In the early 1990s, Vietnam allowed its former political
prisoners to leave the country.
By 2000, the Vietnamese community numbered
10,000, mostly in settled in Dorchester.

43. 2000
Brazil becomes the largest source of
immigrants to Massachusetts
From 2000 to 2003 nearly 1 out of 5 immigrants entering
the Commonwealth was Brazilian.

44. 2000
Minority groups have become
Boston’s new “majority”
Latinos, Asians, African Americans, together with other
minorities make up 50.5% of the city’s total population.

45. 2000
People from more than 100 countries
call Boston home.
Irish, Italians and Puerto Ricans are still the largest
ancestry groups in the City.
Haitians, Dominicans, Chinese, Vietnamese,
Salvadorians, Cape Verdeans, Jamaicans and Colombians
make up the largest groups of New Bostonians.

46. 2000
New Bostonians speak more than
140 languages
The most common languages in the City are
Spanish, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Portuguese and Cape
Verdean Creole, Vietnamese, French and Italian.

47. 2000
Boston’s neighborhoods become
increasingly diverse
The neighborhoods that have experienced the most dramatic
change are East Boston, Roslindale and Allston/Brighton.
East Boston has the largest proportion of immigrants, while
Allston/Brighton has the largest number of foreign-born
residents.

48. 2000
Despite this, not all New Bostonian’s find
it easy to thrive
26,000 households in Boston are linguistically isolated
(in which no person aged 14 years and over speaks
English at least “very well”).

49. 2004
Immigrants keep Massachusetts Growing
Immigrants account for 14% of the population
and 17% of the workforce.
If not for immigrants, the State’s population and labor
force would have shrunk from just five years earlier.

50. 2004
New Bostonians play an increasing role
in the local economy
Immigrants spend, from their after-tax earnings,
$3 billion annually.
These annual expenditures generate a regional product of
$2.8 billion and $823 million in State and Federal taxes.

51. 2006
Immigrants are entrepreneurs
Immigrants own more than 8,000 small businesses in the
greater Boston area in different industry sectors.
Combined, these businesses represent more than $5.5
billion in annual sales and employ nearly 37,000
people.

52. 2030
Immigrants will be critical in filling
future labor gaps
76 million “baby boomers” will retire in 2030
while only 46 million native-born workers will have
entered the workforce.

53. Boston has always been a
gateway for immigrants.
In fact, 1 in 6 U.S. citizens trace their ancestry
back to the port of Boston. Immigrants have
helped make Boston a world-class city. That
proud tradition continues today. Our future
depends upon how well we embrace the city’s
growing diversity.
Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston