Colonies of New England

Plymouth Colony (1620 - 1686)

    1620 -- est. by Pilgrims (in this case, the Puritan dissenters) under self rule and democracy with suffrage limited to adult Puritan Church members.  This was never a colony that existed under a formal charter issued directly or indirectly by the Royal Govt. of England.

    -- always remained a small colony

    1686 -- Self-rule ended when it was forcibly brought under the Royal dictatorship of the Dominion of New England by James II

    -- Gov. Edward Andros ruled as a dictator.  He "ruled without a representative assembly, vacated land titles, restricted town meetings, enforced the Navigation Acts, and promoted the Church of England, angering virtually every segment of Massachusetts colonial society. Andros dealt a major blow to the colonists by challenging their title to the land; unlike England the great majority of New Englanders were land-owners. Taylor says that because they "regarded secure real estate as fundamental to their liberty, status, and prosperity, the colonists felt horrified by the sweeping and expensive challenge to their land titles."

    1691 -- Absorbed into the new Province of Mass. Bay after the Glorious Revolution overthrew James II and the people of Boston arrested Andros.                

-- Mass. Bay Colony (1630 - 1686)

    1630 -- est. by a corp. comprised of Puritan dissenters under self rule and democracy with suffrage limited to adult Puritan Church members

    -- Grew large

-- Rhode Island (1636 - 1686; 1691-1776)

    -- 1636 when Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of theological differences. Williams believed 

            -- government and religion should be separate;

            -- the colonies should purchase land at fair prices from the Indians

-- Connecticut

        -- Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts and started the Conn. colony because he believed suffrage should be extended not just to men of the Puritan Church, but to all men who owned property.

-- New Hampshire

        1629 -- Hampshire founded in a corporate land grant.

        1679 -- Charles II issued a Royal Charter for NH, formally separating it from Mass. Bay Colony

Dominion of New England (1686-1691)

    --  After the Restoration of the Anglo / Catholic Stuart Kings in 1660, Charles II wanted to end Puritan domination of Mass. Bay and Plymouth Colonies, he wanted to enforce the trade laws, end manufacturing in the colonies, and keep these colonies dependent on Eng. in a mercantile system.

        --  James II ultimately unilaterally withdrew all of the charters of the colonies north of Penn. and Maryland (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island; later expanded to include New York and New Jersey) and conglomerated these colonies under autocratic rule by the Dominion of New England.

    COMMENT:  The people of NE had experience with threats to their civil and religious liberties and had already suffered under this tyranny of the Dominion before rebelling and overthrowing the Dominion.

1691 -- Post-Glorious Revolution and port-Dominion of NE

-- Rather than reissue the original charters of the New England colonies, William and Mary issued new "Royal charters" for the colonies.  The Crown retained the right to appoint all of the major public positions, including Governor and Lt. Governor.