March 31, 1736

On March 31, 1736

On March 31, 1736, the world that Captain Thomas Homer was born into sat in an era of rapid transatlantic trade, domestic British legal reforms, and colonial expansion.

In March 1736, Boston was the busiest seaport and the cultural heart of British North America. The city was deeply preoccupied with maritime commerce, dealing with early spring logistics as merchant ships returned across the Atlantic. Local journals from this period show the Boston selectmen heavily focused on town infrastructure, firefighting regulations, and managing the fluctuating value of Massachusetts “Old Tenor” paper currency.

Based on the regions where his family lived (Boston, Massachusetts), originated (Bristol and Staffordshire, England), and sailed across the Atlantic, several major contemporary events defined this period:

Boston & Colonial Massachusetts

The Massachusetts “Old Tenor” Paper Currency Battle: By early 1736, Boston merchants and sea captains faced severe friction over unstable colonial paper money (“Old Tenor”). Royal Governor Jonathan Belcher was enforcing strict Board of Trade orders requiring Massachusetts to retire large sums of outstanding paper currency, provoking sharp disputes with Boston selectmen and merchant-tailors whose businesses relied on stable pricing.
Early Sparks of the First Great Awakening: Boston’s religious and intellectual leadership was closely tracking reports of intense evangelical revivals taking place in western Massachusetts under Jonathan Edwards in Northampton—early rumblings of the revivalist movement that swept New England in the late 1730s and 1740s.
The “Throat Distemper” Epidemic: The most harrowing domestic news throughout Massachusetts and coastal New England in March 1736 was a lethal, sweeping epidemic of “throat distemper” (diphtheria/scarlet fever). The outbreak tore through maritime and agricultural towns, wiping out entire households of infants and young children, and dominated town prayer meetings and regional gazettes like the Boston News-Letter.
Early Spring Atlantic Convoy Arrivals: March was the critical month when winter-harbored merchantmen from London, Bristol, and the West Indies made landfall in Boston Harbor. Boston papers listed incoming ship manifests carrying woolens, broadcloths, and silks—the lifeblood of merchant tailors like Benjamin Homer—while taking aboard New England timber, salt fish, and whale oil.

The Other Early American Colonies & Imperial Borders

Founding of Bellevue Hospital: On the exact day Thomas was born, New York City opened a modest six-bed public almshouse (a home for the poor and correction facility) on the site where City Hall stands today. Featuring a tiny 25-by-23-foot infirmary overseen by Dr. John Van Beuren, this humble institution evolved over the centuries into Bellevue Hospital, famously recognized as the oldest continuously operating public hospital in the United States.
James Oglethorpe Fortifies Georgia Against the Spanish: In March 1736, General James Oglethorpe arrived at St. Simons Island with over 100 settlers and Scottish Highlanders to begin construction of Fort Frederica. This moved the British colonial perimeter directly against Spanish Florida, creating intense military friction and fueling colonial newspaper speculation of an impending war on the southern frontier (which erupted soon after as the War of Jenkins’ Ear).
The Walking Purchase Preparations in Pennsylvania: To the south, Pennsylvania authorities and the Penn family were in the final, contentious stages of preparing for the infamous “Walking Purchase” of 1737, drawing widespread debate across the Middle Colonies regarding provincial borderlines and Indian affairs.

England & British Waters

Smuggling Clampdowns along the Bristol Channel: In London and Edinburgh, tensions were reaching a boiling point over trade, smuggling, and royal authority. British authorities spent March clamping down heavily on smugglers, a policy that backfired spectacularly just a few weeks later in April 1736 when the famous Porteous Riots erupted in Scotland against the heavy-handedness of the British Town Guard.
The Witchcraft Act of 1735: Parliament was in the final stages of cementing the Witchcraft Act, a massive legal shift that officially decoupled English law from the supernatural. While it technically went into effect a few months later, the debates during this spring fundamentally changed British law by making it illegal to execute someone for “witchcraft”—instead, it penalized charlatans who claimed to have magical powers for fraud.
The Gin Craze & The Passage of the Gin Act of 1736: In March 1736, Parliament was in heated debate over Sir Joseph Jekyll’s bill to suppress the rampant “gin epidemic” in London and British ports. Passed as the Gin Act of 1736 (9 Geo. 2 c. 23), it slapped an aggressive £50 retailer license fee and a 20-shilling-per-gallon excise tax on spirits. This was enormous news across shipping networks that traded sugar, rum, and distilled spirits.