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Article: Boston: History
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Boston: History
Site on Peninsula Settled by Puritans
The point of land that juts into a natural harbor connecting with the Atlantic Ocean and forms the site of present-day Boston was once occupied by Native American tribes. They named the peninsula "Shawmut," which meant variously "land accessible by water" in reference to the harbor or "land with living fountains," a comment on the area's abundant fresh water springs. When two-thirds of the native population succumbed to a European disease against which they carried no immunity, the way was clear for transAtlantic settlers.
The area's first white settler from across the Atlantic arrived on the peninsula in the 1620s. William ...