Chapter 3 Section 2
“The New England Colonies”
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Geography of New England
*Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New
Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine
*Geography
*Hills and low mountains
*Large areas covered by mountains
*Narrow plains along Atlantic coast
*Soil is thin and rocky (farming is difficult)
*Some of richest fishing grounds in world
*Winters are long and snowy; Summers are
shorter and warm (early colonists had fewer
diseases than those in Virginia)
Puritans in Massachusetts Bay
*Puritans had disagreements with Church of
England and wanted to reform (purify), or
change, it
*Early 1600s - Puritans in England were
influential and important – merchants,
landowners, lawyers
*1620s – King Charles I opposed their movement
and persecuted/punished them; Puritan ministers
forced to give up positions
The Puritans Leave England
*1630 – about 900 Puritans formed Massachusetts
Bay Company – received charter to establish
settlements in what are now Massachusetts and
New Hampshire
*John Winthrop – leader of Puritans
*Puritans believed that people were basically bad
and had to live by strict standards of behavior in
order to make up for their sins. Common Puritan
disciplines included hard work and staying away
from gambling, drinking, and swearing.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony
*Established several settlements, including Boston
(excellent harbor)
*By 1643 – about 20,000 people lived in
Massachusetts Bay Colony
*By mid-1630s, they had an elected assembly
(General Court) and colony’s governor elected
each year
*Puritans founded their colony so they could
worship as they chose; they did not give nonPuritans the same right. Puritans did not believe
in religious toleration (others have the right to
different religions)
New Colonies
*Disagreements about religion led to start of other
colonies in New England
*Roger Williams, minister of church in Salem,
believed the Puritans should split entirely with
Church of England; also criticized colonists who
had seized Native American lands. Williams
specified that colonists should pay Native
Americans for their land.
*1635 – Williams forced to leave Mass. Bay and
established Rhode Island (bought land from
Native Americans)
*1636 – founded Providence, RI
*By 1644 – colonists (RI) received charter from
king to govern selves; colonists decided RI would
have no established church (religious freedom!)
Anne Hutchinson’s Dissent
*Anne Hutchinson (Boston) questioned some of
Puritan teachings
*1638 – put on trial and expelled from Mass.
Moved to part of Rhode Island and then New
York
Settling Connecticut
*Thomas Hooker, minister, disagreed with
Puritan leaders
*1636 – took about 100 followers from Mass. to
Connecticut, establish Hartford; many Puritans
followed
*By 1639 – colonists wrote Fundamental Orders
of Connecticut, which established a new
government with an elected legislature and
governor
*1662 – received charter from king granting selfgovernment
*John Wheelright agreed with Hutchinson; also
forced to leave Mass.; moved to New Hampshire
and founded Exeter
*1680 – received charter from king making New
Hampshire a separate colony
Growth and Change
*Puritans believed towns and churches should
manage own affairs; also believed people should
work hard and live in strong and stable families
*Puritans towns governed selves using town
meetings; restricted to male heads of households
*Subsistence Farming (enough to feed selves with
a little left over for trade), making leather goods,
fishing, shipbuilding were main occupations
King Philip’s War
*By 1670s, Native American population
decreasing (disease); only about 12,000 in New
England region (one tenth of pop. in 1570s)
*1675 – chief of Wampanoag (Metacom/King
Philip) opposed English and joined forces with
many other Native Americans to prevent Puritan
expansion
*Fighting lasted a year and cost thousands of lives.
Metacom/King Philip and allies destroyed 12
English towns
*1676 – Metacom/King Philip captured and killed
(ending fighting); end of war left English free to
expand
Puritan Influence Declines
*By 1670s – new generation of people born in
North America; people concentrated on running
farms and businesses instead of religious emphasis
*Towns grew but religious rules of the original
founders now had less influence over people who
lived there