Massachusetts
By: Zachary Vernon
Region
Massachusetts region is Northeastern in the United States.
When and why was Massachusetts founded?
The Pilgrims
Massachusetts was founded by Pilgrims in 1620.
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a devoutly religious Puritan eleder who led a large migration of Puritans from England to America in 1629 and became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony one year later in 1630.
WHY?
Massachusetts was founded to practice freedom of religion.
What made people want to come there?
Massachusetts grew very big in a different variety of actives, like carding, spinning, and weaving wool and other fibers. Also trade was very big in Massachusetts, and English ships continued to come to the Massachusetts colony for fishing and trade.
Crown or Proprietary?
Massachusetts was a Proprietary colony, Massachusetts was the last proprietary colony of colonial America.
Plymouth Colony
The Plymouth Colony was a English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth colony was founded by a group of Separatists initially known as Brownists Emigration and Anglicans, who together later came to be known as Pilgrims. The Plymouth colony, along with Jamestown and other settlements in Virginia were some of the earliest successful colonies to be founded by the English in North America.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America. The first few years in the Massachusetts Bay was a very difficult lifestyle, but the colony grew more and more developed. The Massachusetts Bay Colony grew very economically successful, engaging in trade with England and the West Indies.
Relationships with the Native Americans
At first relations with the Native tribes were good. However, eventually cultural and demographic friction led to the Pequot War, 1637, and King Philip's War the bloodiest war in American history. After 1676 most Indians in Massachusetts had died of disease, been killed in war, pacified, or been driven off.
Economic Basis
Trade was the biggest part of the economy, but In the early years of the colony it was highly dependent on the import of staples from England, and was supported by the investments of a number of wealthy immigrants. Certain businesses, notably shipbuilding, fishers, and the fur and lumber trades, quickly got started. As early as 1632 ships built in the colony of trading, either with other colonies, England, or foreign ports of Europe. By 1660 the colonies merchant fleet was estimated at 200 ships. Trade played a modest role in the economy, the colonies economy depended on the success on trade, in part because its land was not suitable for agriculture as other colonies were.
Important People
John Winthrop- Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony for 12 years.
John Endecott- First Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, he was governor for 16 years. Endecott was a staunch Puritan who persecuted those who held opposing views.
Important Events
- Explorer John Cabot sails along Massachusetts coast
- King James I grants Charter to Plymouth Company
- Colony at Plymouth established after Mayflower Voyage
- Colony at Salem established by John Endicott
- Massachusetts Bay Colony established at Boston by John Winthrop
- Boston is made capital of Massachusetts Bay Colony
- Four Year War with Pequots Begins, Nearly wipes out tribe
- Harvard College established at Cambridge
- Margaret Jones, Herbal Practitioner, hanged as a witch at Boston
- First coins minted in English colonies
- William Leddra hanged at Boston for practicing Quaker religion
- King Philip's War endangers the colony for three years
- Salem Witch trials begin
Puritianism
The Puritans were a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism was founded by John Calvin in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England. Puritans were blocked from changing the established church from within, and was severely restricted in England by laws controlling the practicing the practice of religion.
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials were a dark time in American history. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. The Salem Witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft, this took place between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, most of them women. Nineteen people were hung, and one was pressed to death. Salem Massachusetts was not alone in the witch hunt. A wave of witch trials swept Europe from the 1300s to the 1600s. These witch hunts happened for a variety of reasons and were greatly influenced by the fear of the devil and the commonly accepted belief that he could give witches the power to hurt people. The hysteria first began in January of 1692 when a group of young girls, who later came to be known as the "afflicted girls," fell ill and began to behave strangely.
Map of Salem Village in 1692
This is a site of the Courthouse where the witch trials took place.
Trial of George Jacobs of Salem for Witchcraft.