The Massachusetts Bay Colony: The History and Legacy of the

The Massachusetts Bay Colony: The History and Legacy of the Settlement of Colonial New England

*Includes pictures
*Profiles important figures like John Winthrop, Roger Williams, and others
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
*Includes a table of contents

The first successful American colony in North America was settled in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. Though the Virginian colonists had difficulty in the beginning, by the late 1620s the Chesapeake area was thriving, having become a haven for those seeking economic opportunity in the new world. Pressures in England were growing as King Charles I was on the throne. Though Charles I himself was an Anglican, many suspected him of Catholic sympathies, a suspicion not alleviated by Charles I marriage to a French Catholic princess. Many Protestants had a growing desire to practice their faith and conduct their lives away from the mother country, and sought refuge in a destination called New England.

The land chosen by this group, who â€œcould pay their own way across the Atlanticâ€ in contrast to the poorer settlers of the Chesapeake region was â€œcolder, less abundant, but far healthierâ€ than Virginia. Alan Taylor sees this decision as one in â€œclassic Puritan fashionâ€, citing one settlerâ€™s view: â€œIf men desire to have a people degenerate speedily, and to corrupt their minds and bodies too...let them seek a rich soil, that beings in much with little labor; but if they desire that Piety and Godliness should prosperâ€¦let them choose a Country such as [New England] which yields sufficiency with hard labor and industry.â€ The Puritans who came to America were, therefore, primed for hard work, discipline and the independent life, unlike their English counterparts who â€œpreferred Anglicanism and the traditional culture characterized by church ales, Sunday diversions, ceremonial services, inclusive churches, and deference to the monarch.â€

Ultimately, the men of the New England Company decided that the time had come to remove themselves from England, and to pursue their lives in the Americas. The Dorchester Company was founded by a group of investors with an interest in settlement in the New World. This settlement would be a for-profit venture, but it would have as its two main causes the spreading of the Gospel to the Indian population and the stop of the spread of Roman Catholicism in the American colonies. John White, the companyâ€™s leader, also wanted to compete with the separatists who had begun the Plymouth colony in 1620. Cape Ann, a promontory very near to Cape Cod was established by the Dorchester Company as an early settlement. The fishing was excellent, but Cape Ann proved unable to provide the farm goods needed to sustain the Puritan settlers who came to the New World. The Dorchester Company was dissolved, but investors seeking to salvage its aims formed the New England Company or Massachusetts Bay Company and secured a charter just before King Charles I dissolved the Parliament in 1629.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony: The History and Legacy of the Settlement of Colonial New England profiles the history of the colony, as well as its most famous leaders and individuals. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about colonial New England like never before, in no time at all.
Country USA
Manufacturer Charles River Editors
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-01-18
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Charles River Editors
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-01-18
Format	Kindle eBook

The Massachusetts Bay Colony: The History and Legacy of the Settlement of Colonial New England

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