Massachusetts Bay Colony
Early New England
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement founded in 1630 by Puritan colonists on the eastern coast of North America, centered around present-day Boston.
It became one of the most populous and influential of the original American colonies, known for its theocratic governance and role in events like the Salem witch trials.
The colony merged with Plymouth Colony in 1691 to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Rule by religious authority
- CalvinismPredestinarian Protestant theology
- predestinationDivinely predetermined fate
- sermonClergy's worship address
- meetinghousePlace for group worship
elect · dissent · Protestant · religious freedom · Harvard College · catechism · sabbath · minister
Colonial-indigenous New England conflict
- Salem witch trialsColonial American persecution of alleged sorcerers
- banishmentForced removal from place
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- dissenterOpponent of orthodoxy
exile · trial · execution · religious intolerance · sedition
English port city
- SalemCity or name
- BostonMassachusetts state capital
- town meetingLocal governance assembly
- selectmenElected municipal board members
freemen · magistrates · commonwealth · taxation · militia · Navigation Acts · mercantilism · self-governance
1620 colonial transport vessel
- 1629A specific year
- royal charterMonarch-issued rights document
- King Charles IDecapitated Stuart ruler
- Great MigrationVast collective relocation
covenant · patent · incorporation · colonization · expedition · settlement · governance · jurisdiction
theocracy
Rule by religious authority
- CalvinismPredestinarian Protestant theology
- predestinationDivinely predetermined fate
- sermonClergy's worship address
meetinghouse · elect · dissent · Protestant · religious freedom · Harvard College · catechism · sabbath · minister · congregation
King Philip's War
Colonial-indigenous New England conflict
- Salem witch trialsColonial American persecution of alleged sorcerers
- banishmentForced removal from place
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
dissenter · exile · trial · execution · religious intolerance · sedition
Plymouth
English port city
- SalemCity or name
- BostonMassachusetts state capital
- town meetingLocal governance assembly
selectmen · freemen · magistrates · commonwealth · taxation · militia · Navigation Acts · mercantilism · self-governance · ordinance
Mayflower
1620 colonial transport vessel
- 1629A specific year
- royal charterMonarch-issued rights document
- King Charles IDecapitated Stuart ruler
Great Migration · covenant · patent · incorporation · colonization · expedition · settlement · governance · jurisdiction · territory
Pilgrims
Plymouth's founding English colonists
- colonistsSettlers in new territory
- PuritansEnglish Protestant reformers
- emigrantsPeople leaving their country
planters · freemen · indentured servants · families · townsfolk · yeomen · artisans · merchants · fishermen · farmers
Wampanoag
Algonquian-speaking northeastern tribe
- PequotAlgonquian people of Connecticut
- NarragansettEastern Algonquian tribe
- MassasoitWampanoag sachem, 1620s
Squanto · treaty · displacement · trade · wampum · alliance · warfare · epidemic
- New EnglandMaine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island
- colonial faithPilgrims, Puritans, Calvinism, New England, predestination
- New England historyBoston, Puritans, Salem witch trials, Boston Tea Party, American Revolution
- Salem witchcraftSalem witch trials, Salem, witch trials, accused witches, spectral evidence
- HarvardHarvard Yard, Harvard Square, Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, Harvard alumni
- surveyingsurveyor, theodolite, land surveys, survey markers, triangulation
Massachusetts Bay ColonyBarbados
Caribbean island country
Jamestown · crown colonies · Roanoke Colony · Hudson's Bay Company · Plymouth Colony