How were the New
England colonies created?
AIM:
The New England Colonies
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
New Hampshire
Who were the Puritans?
Wanted to purify (reform the
Church of England
Disliked organ music, fancy churches
Persecuted by King Charles I
• Believed all human beings were
evil
• Satan was always present
• Citizens found guilty of sins were
humiliated
– Letters on back
– Dunked in ponds
– Stand in pillories
Religious Persecution
STOCKS
1. The Massachusetts Bay
Colony
1629  Puritans get a royal charter to form
the MA Bay Colony.
 Wanted to escape religious persecution
1630  1,000 people set off in 11 well-stocked
ships
 Established a colony with Boston as its hub.
Called “Great Migration” of the 1630s
The Great Migration
• Why did the
Puritans leave
England?
– Religious
freedom
– Escape
persecution
from King
Charles I
15,0000 journey to Mass.
Who was their leader?
John Winthrop-
Wealthy attorney and manor lord
Devout Puritan
Became 1st governor of
Massachusetts.
 Believed that he had a “calling”
from God to lead there.
 Set an example by working hard
to clear land & build a home
 Served as governor or deputygovernor for 19 years.
“We shall be as a
city on a hill..”
The Puritans Arrive
What was life like in the New
England settlements?
Low mortality  average life
expectancy was 70 years of age.
Average 6 children per family.
Average age at marriage:
 Women – 22 years old
 Men – 27 years old.
Who was the boss of the
family?
Male father figures controlled each
household.
Called a patriarchal society
Ministers and magistrates controlled
church & household
patriarchs.
2. Connecticut
– Founder-Thomas HookerPuritan minister
– Believed govt had too much
power
– Left Massachusetts Bay &
started a new colony
– 1636
Government of Connecticut
• Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut
– All men with property could vote,
even if not Church members
– Limited governor’s power
Another Puritan “Rebel”
Roger Williams- young, popular minister in
Salem.
 Believed church & state (govt) should be separate
1635  found guilty of preaching new &
dangerous opinions and was exiled.
Roger Williams
3. Rhode Island
1636  Roger Williams founds Rhode
Island.
 Remarkable political freedom in Providence,
RI
•
•
•
•
•
No special privileges for anyone
freedom of opportunity for all.
Fair to Native Americans
All white men can vote
No one has to go to Church.
RI becomes known as the “Sewer” -seen by
the Puritans as a dumping ground for
unbelievers
 More liberal than any other colony!
3. Rhode Island
Another Puritan “Rebel”
Anne Hutchinson
Intelligent, strong-willed,
well-spoken woman.
Devout Puritan
Discussed sermons
 Believed holy life was no sure
sign of salvation.
Anne Hutchinson’s Trial
1638 – lasted 2 days
Finally stated she had received her beliefs
DIRECTLY from God.
Puritan leaders banished her  she & her
family traveled to RI and later to NY.
 She and all but one member of her family were
killed in an Indian attack in Westchester
County.
 John Winthrop saw God’s hand in this!
BANISHED
Puritans vs. Native Americans
Indians especially weak in New England 
epidemics wiped out ¾ of the native popul..
Some colonists like Thomas Hooker & Roger
Williams were fair but…….
But….
The English keep coming &
taking…
More settlers take more land
War begins- 1675
Metacom [King Philip to
white settlers]- chief of Wampanoag Indians
 Other tribes unite with them & 600 settlers
are killed
King Philip’s War
(1675-1676}
The war ended in failure for the Indians
 Metacom beheaded and drawn and quartered.
 His son and wife sold into slavery.
 Never a serious threat in New England again!!
• Describe the Sabbath:
– Holy Day
– Nobody could talk, joke,
drink
– Everybody attended
church
Purpose:
– Vote or make
decisions
– Took place at
church
– Made strict
religious laws
• Economy of New
England:
– Shipbuilding (trees
from forests)
– Hunted in forest- wild
turkey, deer
– Fishing and whaling
from ships
New England Spreads Out
New England Colonies, 1650
Population of the New
England Colonies