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On March 4, 1629, King Charles I of England approved a corporate charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company, giving it control over a wide swath of land on the eastern coast of North America. The following March, a fleet of eleven ships, led by the Arabella, traveled to New England to establish the Massachusetts colony.
On the voyage across the Atlantic, a prominent Puritan minister named John Winthrop, told his fellow travelers that they were going to establish a "City Upon a Hill." Massachusetts was to be a shining example of Christian living for all the world to see. In fact, settlers in Massachusetts did establish a Puritan commonwealth, but along the way they encountered many difficulties and waged savage war against the native population.
Massachusetts was the largest colony in New England and had a dramatic impact on life in seventeenth century North America. This week, we will examine the founding, evolution, and controversies associated with the colony and its neighbors. From religious disputes and Indian wars, we will move to economics, politics, and of course, the infamous witch trials at the close of the century. |
