New England colonies - wikipedia New England colonies The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short - lived colonies. The New England colonies were part of the Thirteen Colonies and eventually became five of the six states in New England. Captain John Smith 's 1616 work A Description of New England first applied the term `` New England '' to the coastal lands from Long Island Sound to Newfoundland. Contents 1 Before the Mayflower 2 Establishing the New England Colonies 2.1 Spreading out 3 Commerce 4 Wartime Enslavement of Enemy Combatants in New England 5 Education 6 See also 7 Notes 8 Sources Before the Mayflower The English royal charters granted land to the north to Queen Elizabeth, land to the south to the London Company. France, England, and other countries made several attempts to colonize New England early in the 17th century, and those nations were often in contention for lands in the New World. French nobleman Pierre Dugua Sieur de Monts established a settlement on Saint Croix Island, Maine in June 1604 under the authority of the King of France. Nearly half the settlers perished due to the harsh winter and scurvy, and the survivors moved north out of New England to Port - Royal of Nova Scotia ( see symbol `` R '' on map to the right ) in the spring of 1605. King James I of England recognized the need for a permanent settlement in New England, and he granted competing royal charters to the Plymouth Company and the London Company. The Plymouth Company ships arrived at the mouth of the Kennebec River ( then called the Sagadahoc River ) in August 1607 where they established a settlement named Sagadahoc Colony, better known as Popham Colony ( see symbol `` Po '' on map to right ) to honor financial backer Sir John Popham. The colonists faced a harsh winter, the loss of supplies following a storehouse fire, and mixed relations with the local Indian tribes. Colony leader Captain George Popham died, and Raleigh Gilbert decided to return to England to take up an inheritance left by the death of an older brother -- at which point, all of the colonists decided to return to England. It was around August 1608 when they left on the ship Mary and John and on a new ship built by the colony named Virginia of Sagadahoc. The 30 - ton Virginia was the first sea - going ship ever built in North America. Conflict over land rights continued through the early 17th century, with the French constructing Fort Pentagouet near Castine, Maine in 1613. The fort protected a trading post and a fishing station and was the first longer - term settlement in New England. It changed hands multiple times throughout the 17th century among the English, French, and Dutch colonists. In 1614, Dutch explorer Adriaen Block traveled along the coast of Long Island Sound and then up the Connecticut River to Hartford, Connecticut. By 1623, the Dutch West India Company regularly traded for furs there, and they eventually fortified it for protection from the Pequot Indians and named the site `` House of Hope '' ( also identified as `` Fort Hoop, '' `` Good Hope, '' and `` Hope '' ). Establishing the New England colonies A group of Puritans known as the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower from England and the Netherlands to establish Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, the second successful English colony in North America following Jamestown, Virginia. About half of the one hundred - plus passengers on the Mayflower died that first winter, mostly because of diseases contracted on the voyage followed by a harsh winter. In 1621, an American Indian named Squanto taught the colonists how to grow corn and where to catch eels and fish. His assistance was invaluable and helped them to survive the early years of the colonization. The Pilgrims lived on the same site where Squanto 's Patuxet tribe had established a village before they were wiped out from diseases. The Plymouth settlement faced great hardships and earned few profits, but it enjoyed a positive reputation in England and may have sown the seeds for further immigration. Edward Winslow and William Bradford published an account of their experiences called Mourt 's Relation ( 1622 ). This book was only a small glimpse of the hardships and dangers encountered by the Pilgrims, but it encouraged other Puritans to immigrate during the Great Migration. Major boundaries of Massachusetts Bay and neighboring colonial claims in the 17th century and 18th century. Modern state boundaries are partially overlaid for context. The Puritans in England first sent smaller groups in the mid-1620s to establish colonies, buildings, and food supplies, learning from the Pilgrims ' harsh experiences of winter in the Plymouth Colony. In 1623, the Plymouth Council for New England ( successor to the Plymouth Company ) established a small fishing village at Cape Ann under the supervision of the Dorchester Company. The first group of Puritans moved to a new town at nearby Naumkeag after the Dorchester Company dropped support, and fresh financial support was found by Rev. John White. Other settlements were started in nearby areas ; however, the overall Puritan population remained small through the 1620s. A larger group of Puritans arrived in 1630, leaving England because they desired to worship in a manner that differed from the Church of England. Their views were in accord with those of the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower, except that the Pilgrims were `` separatists '' who felt that they needed to separate themselves from the Church of England, whereas the later Puritans were content to remain under the umbrella of the Church of England. The separate colonies were governed independently of one other until 1691, when Plymouth Colony was absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Spreading out Early dissenters of the Puritan laws were often banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Connecticut Colony was started after Puritan minister Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts Bay with about 100 followers in search of greater religious and political freedom. John Wheelwright left with his followers to a colony in New Hampshire and then on to Maine. The Puritans also established the American public school system for the express purpose of ensuring that future generations would be able to read the Bible for themselves, which was a central tenet of Puritan worship. It was the dead of winter in January 1636 when minister Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of theological differences. One source of contention was his view that government and religion should be separate ; he also believed that the colonies should purchase land at fair prices from the Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes. He escaped being deported to England by the Massachusetts officials and walked from Salem, Massachusetts to Raynham, Massachusetts, a distance of 55 miles through the deep snow. The Indian tribes helped him to survive and sold him land for a new colony which he named Providence Plantations in recognition of the intervention of Divine Providence in establishing the new colony. It was unique in its day in expressly providing for religious freedom and a separation of church from state. Other dissenters established two settlements on Rhode Island ( now called Aquidneck Island ) and another settlement in Warwick ; these four settlements eventually united to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. A map of the Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts in 1636 with 100 followers and founded a settlement just north of the Dutch Fort Hoop which grew into Connecticut Colony. The community was first named Newtown then renamed Hartford to honor the English town of Hertford. One of the reasons why Hooker left was that only members of the church could vote and participate in the government in Massachusetts Bay, which he believed should include any adult male owning property. The Connecticut Colony was not the first settlement in Connecticut ( the Dutch were first ) or even the first English settlement ( Windsor was first in 1633 ). Thomas Hooker obtained a royal charter and established Fundamental Orders, considered to be one of the first constitutions in North America. Other colonies later merged into the royal charter for the Connecticut Colony, including New Haven and Saybrook. Commerce The earliest colonies in New England were usually fishing villages or farming communities on the more fertile land along the rivers. The rocky soil in the New England Colonies was not as fertile as the Middle or Southern Colonies, but the land provided rich resources, including lumber that was valued for building homes and ships. Lumber was also a resource that could be exported back to England, where there was a shortage of wood. In addition, the hunting of wildlife provided furs to be traded and food for the table. In Massachusetts their economy was heavily based on small industries with people working as porters, tanners, shopkeepers and metalworkers. They had merchants which carried raw materials such as furs, timber, and the tar and pitch needed for shipbuilding. Trade went on directly between the English colonists and the European Caribbean islands. The New England Colonies were located near the ocean where there was an abundance of whales, fish, and other marketable sea life. Excellent harbors and some inland waterways offered protection for ships and were also valuable for fresh water fishing. By the end of the 17th century, New England colonists had created an Atlantic trade network that connected them to the English homeland as well as the West African slave coast, the Caribbean 's plantation islands, and the Iberian Peninsula. Colonists relied upon British and European imports for glass, linens, hardware, machinery, and other items for the colonial household. The Southern Colonies could produce tobacco, rice, and indigo in exchange for imports, whereas New England 's colonies could not offer much to England beyond fish, furs, and lumber. Inflation was a major issue in the economy. During the 18th century, shipbuilding drew upon the abundant lumber and revived the economy, often under the direction of the British Crown. Wartime enslavement of enemy combatants in New England Enslavement of enemies defeated in war was a common practice in European nations at this time. This was a policy that had been going on for decades in Ireland, particularly since the time of Elizabeth I and during the mid-17th century Cromwell wars in Britain and Ireland, where large numbers of Irish, Welsh, and Scots prisoners of war were sent as slaves to plantations in the West Indies, especially to Barbados and Jamaica. The practice found its way to the American colonies during the Pequot War and King Philip 's War. Military leader Benjamin Church spoke out against enslaving Indians in the summer of 1675, describing the practice as `` an action so hateful... that ( I ) opposed it to the loss of the good will and respect of some that before were ( my ) good friends. '' This said, Church was an owner of African slaves himself, like many Englishmen in the colony. Ships carrying captured war combatants began to leave New England ports during King Philip 's War ( 1675 - 78 ) and continued for the three years of the war. The policy concerning war enemies was that `` no male captive above the age of fourteen years should reside in the colony. '' It is estimated that at least a thousand New England Indian warriors were sold as slaves during King Philip 's War, with over half of those coming from Plymouth. Education In the New England Colonies, the first settlements of Pilgrims and the other Puritans who came later taught their children how to read and write in order that they might read and study the Bible for themselves. Depending upon social and financial status, education was taught by the parents home - schooling their children, public grammar schools, and private governesses, which included subjects from reading and writing to Latin and Greek and more. See also Middle Colonies Southern Colonies Chesapeake Colonies Thirteen Colonies History of Massachusetts Historical outline of Massachusetts British Colonial America New England Manor of East Greenwich History of New England Dominion of New England New England Confederation Notes Jump up ^ Gipson Jump up ^ Bisceglia Jump up ^ Smith Jump up ^ St. Croix Celebration. `` St. Croix Island History ''. Archived from the original on 2001 - 08 - 03. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Maine 's First Ship : Historic Overview ''. Maine 's First Ship. Retrieved 22 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` New France Forts ''. New France New Horizons. Retrieved 2009 - 01 - 10. Jump up ^ New York Historical Society, p. 260 Jump up ^ Deetz, Patricia Scot ; James F. Deetz. `` Passengers on the Mayflower : Ages & Occupations, Origins & Connections ''. The Plymouth Colony Archive Project. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ NativeAmericans.com. `` Squanto ( The History of Tisquantum ) ''. Archived from the original on June 5, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2014. Jump up ^ Bradford, William ( 1865 ). Mourt 's Relation, or Journal of the Plantation at Plymouth. Boston : J.K. Wiggin. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 23. Jump up ^ Young, Alexander ( 1846 ). Chronicles of the First Planters of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 1623 - 1636. Boston : C.C. Little and J. Brown. p. 26. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 23. Jump up ^ The Library of Congress Web Site. `` America as a Religious Refuge : The Seventeenth Century ''. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ Roger Williams, Family Association. `` Biography of Roger Williams ''. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 07. Jump up ^. N.p.. Web. 20 Aug 2013. < https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/britain-and-the-settling-of-the-colonies-1600-1750/settling-new-england/commerce-in-the-new-england-colonies/ >. Jump up ^ Nathaniel Philbrick. Mayflower : A story of Courage, Community and War ( Viking 2006 ) p. 253 Jump up ^ Nathaniel Philbrick. Mayflower : A story of Courage, Community and War ( Viking 2006 ) pp 253, 345 Jump up ^ Nathaniel Philbrick. Mayflower : A story of Courage, Community and War ( Viking 2006 ) p. 345 Jump up ^ Nathaniel Philbrick. Mayflower : A story of Courage, Community and War ( Viking 2006 ) p. 332 Sources Bisceglia, Michael ( 12 February 2008 ). `` John Smith : The man who named New England ''. Sea Coast Online. Retrieved April 28, 2013. Gipson, Lawrence. The British Empire Before the American Revolution ( 15 volumes ) ( 1936 - 1970 ). Knopf. Collections of the New York Historical Society. New York : H. Ludwig. 1841. Smith, John, Captain & Admiral ( 1616 ). Royster, Paul, ed. A Description of New England ( 1616 ) : An Online Electronic Text Edition. Electronic Texts in American Studies. The Thirteen Colonies of Colonial America New England Colonies Middle Colonies Chesapeake Colonies Southern Colonies Connecticut Delaware Georgia Maryland Massachusetts Bay New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island and Providence Plantations South Carolina Virginia Early English colonial entities Carolina East Jersey Maine New England New Haven Plymouth Saybrook West Jersey Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_England_Colonies&oldid=819671535 '' Categories : Colonial United States ( British ) Colonization history of the United States Thirteen Colonies History of New England Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas Pre-statehood history of Massachusetts Talk Contents About Wikipedia Latina Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 10 January 2018, at 17 : 44. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. 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Question: where did most new england colonists come from
Answer: England