The Connecticut Colonyim cool was an English colony that became the U.S. state of Connecticut. Originally known as the River Colony, the colony was organized on March 3, 1636 as a haven for Puritan noblemen. After early struggles with the Dutch, the English gained control of the colony permanently by the late 1630s. The colony was later the scene of a bloody war between the English and Native Americans, known as the Pequot War. It played a significant role in the establishment of self-government in the New World with its legendary refusal to surrender local authority to the Dominion of New England, an event known as the Charter Oak incident.
Two other English colonies in the present area of the State of Connecticut merged into the Connecticut Colony: Saybrook Colony in 1644; New Haven Colony in 1665.
History
The first Europeans to the area were the members of the expedition of Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, who sailed through Long Island Sound and up the Connecticut River to present-day Hartford, encountering the Pequot people who lived in area. By the 1620s, Dutch traders from New Amsterdam established fur trading posts along the Connecticut River. Thomas Hooker, along with some Massachusetts colonists, were the first to go to the Connecticut colony for more freedom and financial opportunities.
The rival English had simultaneously established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. King James I of England granted the Earl of Warwick, president of the Council for New England, the right to settle the area west of Narragansett Bay to the Pacific Ocean. In 1631, the Earl of Warwick conveyed the grant to 15 Puritan lords in England as refuge in North America in case the Puritan Revolution failed. The patentees included William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, as well as Lord Brooke, and Colonel George Fenwick. In 1635, the patentees commissioned John Winthrop, Jr., son of the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as "Governor of River Colony".
Winthrop arrived in Boston in October 1635 and learned that the Dutch were planning to occupy the mouth of the Connecticut River at a place called Pasbeshauke, meaning "place at the mouth of the river" in the Algonquian language. To counter the Dutch, Winthrop sent a small bark (canoe) to the mouth of the Connecticut with 20 carpenters and other workmen under the leadership of Lieutenant Edward Gibbons and Sergeant Simon Willard. The expedition landed near the mouth of the river, on the west bank in present-day Old Saybrook, on November 24, 1635 and located the Dutch coat of arms nailed on a tree. They tore down the coat of arms and replaced it with a shield painted with a grinning face. They established a battery of cannon and built a small fort. When the Dutch ship returned several days later, they sighted the cannon and the English ships and withdrew. Winthrop renamed the point "Point Sayebrooke" in honor of Fiennes (Viscount Saye) and Lord Brooke.
The first English settlers arrived in 1636. Clergyman Thomas Hooker led 100 settlers with 130 head of cattle in a trek from Newtown (now Cambridge) in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and started their settlement just north of the old Dutch fort at Hartford. In 1637, the three Connecticut River towns (Hartford, Weathersfield, and Windsor) set up a collective government in order to fight the Pequot War.
In the Summer of 1638, the towns drew up their Fundamental Orders, setting out the principles, powers, and structure of the government. These were adopted by the Connecticut council on January 14, 1639. The Connecticut Colony received a royal charter in 1662 and became an official crown colony.
The New Haven Colony was a separate entity; it was merged into the Connecticut Colony in January 5, 1665.
Early Leaders
Thomas Hooker, a Puritan cogregation leader of that time, was one of the major founders of the Colony of Connecticut. He wrote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, which was the first constitution ever written in the U.S. It served as a model for the U.S. Constitution which was written many years later.
Reasons For Founding
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Thomas Hooker originally founded the colony for more freedom to practice Puritan beliefs and to create a more democratic council. England set up a charter with Hooker so they could further develop the fur trading market there. The colony prided itself on its refined seperation of church and state. The Caves and Yacobs were two prestigious and influential families in the development of the colony. They insisted on reform to separate church and state.
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Resources & Economy
The Puritans believed in hard work, which helped make Connecticut a successful colony.
The Connecticut River valley attracted many newcomers and was a good place to trade. Most colonists earned their living by farming. They raised crops for their own food needs and sold and traded for other items they needed . Corn, pumpkins, beans, squash, and apples were the main crops raised. They also raised cattle for beef and milk. Colonists hunted game for food and fur to trade. Others worked as blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers, barrel makers or shopkeepers. All the colonies had slaves to do work [citation needed].
The men held all the important jobs such as managers and owners. The women did much of the work themselves [citation needed]. They did all of the household chores including cleaning the dishes, taking care of the children, and dusting. The girls, however, could only follow the career of a housewife and mother. Girls married at the age of 16 and 17 and had 6 or 7 children of their own [citation needed].
Instead of money, colonists mostly bartered for what they needed [citation needed].
Role of Religion
Puritans controlled the religion in early Connecticut, but Thomas Hooker wanted his colony to have religious freedom also. Most of the people in Connecticut followed Christianity.
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Contributions to the American Political System
The contributions the Connectuicut had to the American Political System was one of the first ever constitutions in American history. This document was called "The Fundamental Orders of Connetecticut". Pieces of this document were eventually used in the United States Constitution.
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