The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the Puritans, a religious group in England who sought to escape religious persecution and build a model religious community in the Americas. Established in 1630, the colony had a profound impact on education and government that still affects the United States today. Under the leadership of Governor John Winthrop, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established in 1630 by a group of Puritans from England. The grant from King Charles I empowered the company to create a colony in Massachusetts.
Initially, the company intended to transfer the wealth of the New World to shareholders in England, but the settlers instead transferred the letter to Massachusetts, transforming a commercial enterprise into politics. The Massachusetts Bay Colony prospered after its first year through agriculture and trade (mostly in hides and wood at first) and later through industries such as shipbuilding. Unlike Plymouth, disagreements over politics and punishment were not common in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Under Massachusetts Bay Company statutes, any city of at least 15 people had to open an elementary school supported by local taxes.
At its peak, it comprised parts of the current states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The Massachusetts Bay Colony reached the same population level as the decade-old Virginia colonies in one year. Governor Winthrop and the court were generally in charge of the colony since many shareholders did not come to Massachusetts and only expected profits to be sent back to England. The charter was revoked in 1684 and two years later all New England colonies united in the New England Dominion.
As the Massachusetts Bay colony developed, it came into conflict with Native Americans in the region, resulting first in the Pequot War (1636-1638 AD) and then the King Philip War (1675-1678 AD). After these wars, settlers controlled the region and natives who were not sold as slaves were transferred to reserves or left the area. The Puritans who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony wanted to create a perfectly religious community, or a “city on the hill”, away from Catholic influence in the Anglican Church. This variety of crops, as well as New England's pure drinking water and cool climate, slowed down diseases that were common in other colonies of that time.
In 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Company had obtained from King Charles I a charter empowering them to trade and colonize New England between the Charles and Merrimack Rivers. Unlike its Chesapeake counterpart, the Massachusetts Bay Colony flourished with literacy, schools, city meetings, longer lives, clean drinking water, a cool climate, and a variety of crops. As more and more Puritans broke into this colony they began to form cities and communities. The success of this colony was due to its strong leadership under Governor Winthrop; its religious freedom; its economic growth through agriculture and trade; its educational system; its clean drinking water; its cool climate; its variety of crops; and its lack of political disagreements.
