The Boston Chronicle was an American colonial newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 published briefly from December 21, 1767 until 1770 in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. The publishers, John Mein

John Mein (publisher)

John Mein was a Boston, Massachusetts, bookseller and publisher in the time before the American Revolution...

 and John Fleeming

John Fleeming

John Fleeming or John Fleming was a printer, publisher and bookseller in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 18th century.-Biography:Fleeming moved from Scotland to Boston around 1764. In 1765 he worked with William M'Alpine as a publisher/bookseller on Marlborough Street...

, were both from Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The Chronicle was a Loyalist

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

 paper in the time before the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. In its second year, Mein printed names in the paper that accused some colonial merchants of breaking a British nonimportation agreement. In response, Mein's name appeared on a list of merchants who violated the trade agreement. Mein retaliated by accusing the Merchants' Committee of using the nonimportation agreement for illegal profiteering. The irritated readership ransacked the offices of the Chronicle, and ultimately, it ceased operations in 1770.

"The Printers of the Boston Chronicle return thanks to the gentlemen, who have so long favored them with their subscriptions, and now inform them that, as the Chronicle, in the present state of affairs, cannot be cafrried on, either for their entertainment or the emolument of the Printers, it will be discontinued for some time." (printed June 25, 1770)