84-542: The Saybrook Colony was a short-lived English colony established in New England in 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River in what is today Old Saybrook, Connecticut . Saybrook was founded by a group of Puritan noblemen as a potential political refuge from the personal rule of Charles I . They claimed possession of the land via a deed of conveyance from Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick , which granted
168-591: A Privy Councillor and Master of the Court of Wards . When the Civil War broke out, however, Saye was on the committee of safety. He was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Cheshire, and raised a regiment that occupied Oxford. He was a member of the committee of both kingdoms; was mainly responsible for passing the self-denying ordinance through the House of Lords ; and in 1647 stood up for
252-530: A few months. Dutch efforts to colonize the area were revived in 1632 when New Netherland director Wouter van Twiller sent Hans Eechyus to purchase land at the mouth of the Connecticut River from the local Indians. Eechyus subsequently built a fur trading post there and named it Kievet's Hook. In 1631 Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick , president of the Council for New England , granted a patent to
336-679: A group of Puritan noblemen giving them the right to all the land from the Narragansett Bay to the Pacific Ocean . Warwick lacked the authority to grant this patent without the rest of the Council's approval, but plans for colonization proceeded anyway.The founders of the English colony were ardent Puritans and Parliamentarians, with the colony's founders hoping it would serve as a possible political refuge from Charles I . Besides
420-544: A group south where they founded Providence Plantations , which grew into the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1636. At this time, Vermont was uncolonized, and the territories of New Hampshire and Maine were claimed and governed by Massachusetts. As the region grew, it received many immigrants from Europe due to its religious tolerance and economy. Relationships alternated between peace and armed skirmishes between colonists and local Native American tribes,
504-540: A part of Massachusetts, but it was granted statehood on March 15, 1820, as part of the Missouri Compromise . Today, New England is defined as the six states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. New England's economic growth relied heavily on trade with the British Empire , and the region's merchants and politicians strongly opposed trade restrictions. As
588-495: A preliminary, from which the governors were to be chosen. After Saye's constitutional idea received a hostile reception, the partners in the colony compromised to obtain colonists. Saye concentrated his energies on the settlement of Providence Island, while spreading disparaging reports about New England, including its climate and land. He soon abandoned his enterprises there and surrendered his rights. The New Hampshire settlements were made over to Massachusetts in 1641, and Sayebrook
672-556: A railroad. 41°17′06″N 72°21′29″W / 41.285°N 72.358°W / 41.285; -72.358 New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States : Connecticut , Maine , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , Rhode Island , and Vermont . It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick to
756-512: A steady pace from the 1840s until cut off by World War I . The largest numbers came from Ireland and Britain before 1890, and after that from Quebec, Italy, and Southern Europe. The immigrants filled the ranks of factory workers, craftsmen, and unskilled laborers. The Irish and Italians assumed a larger and larger role in the Democratic Party in the cities and statewide, while the rural areas remained Republican. The Great Depression in
840-465: A third of its industrial workforce. It was also the most literate and most educated region in the country. During the same period, New England and areas settled by New Englanders (upstate New York, Ohio's Western Reserve , and the upper midwestern states of Michigan and Wisconsin ) were the center of the strongest abolitionist and anti-slavery movements in the United States, coinciding with
924-649: A variety of the Eastern Algonquian languages . Prominent tribes included the Abenakis , Mi'kmaq , Penobscot , Pequots , Mohegans , Narragansetts , Nipmucs , Pocumtucks , and Wampanoags . Prior to the arrival of European colonists, the Western Abenakis inhabited what is now New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as parts of Quebec and western Maine. Their principal town was Norridgewock in today's Maine. The Penobscots lived along
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#17327654827581008-545: Is a better predictor than general forest age or biomass. Due to an increasing the amount of nitrogen in the soil from climate change , the red maple is becoming one of the most abundant trees in the region, and outcompeting other maples such as the sugar maple . The most populous cities as of the 2020 U.S. Census were (metropolitan areas in parentheses): During the 20th century, urban expansion in regions surrounding New York City has become an important economic influence on neighboring Connecticut, parts of which belong to
1092-465: Is derived from the seal of the colony. The seal also established grapevines as a symbol of Connecticut. The colony's motto Qui Transtulit Sustinet "He Who Transplanted Still Sustains" remains the motto of Connecticut today. Fenwick's wife, Lady Anne Butler, was the first white woman in Connecticut. She would end up becoming a subject of local lore after her tombstone was removed to make room for
1176-626: Is dotted with lakes, hills, marshes and wetlands, and sandy beaches. Important valleys in the region include the Champlain Valley , the Connecticut River Valley and the Merrimack Valley . The longest river is the Connecticut River , which flows from northeastern New Hampshire for 407 mi (655 km), emptying into Long Island Sound , roughly bisecting the region. Lake Champlain , which forms part of
1260-865: Is geologically a part of the New England province , an exotic terrane region consisting of the Appalachian Mountains , the New England highlands and the seaboard lowlands. The Appalachian Mountains roughly follow the border between New England and New York. The Berkshires in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the Green Mountains in Vermont, as well as the Taconic Mountains , form a spine of Precambrian rock. The Appalachians extend northwards into New Hampshire as
1344-501: Is less snowfall (especially in the coastal areas where it is often warmer). Southern and coastal Connecticut is the broad transition zone from the cold continental climates of the north to the milder subtropical climates to the south. The frost free season is greater than 180 days across far southern/coastal Connecticut, coastal Rhode Island, and the islands (Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard). Winters also tend to be much sunnier in southern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island compared to
1428-418: Is one of the U.S. Census Bureau's nine regional divisions and the only multi-state region with clear and consistent boundaries. It maintains a strong sense of cultural identity, although the terms of this identity are often contrasted, combining Puritanism with liberalism, agrarian life with industry, and isolation with immigration. The earliest known inhabitants of New England were American Indians who spoke
1512-435: Is only the 39th-largest state, slightly smaller than Indiana . The remaining states are among the smallest in the U.S., including the smallest state —Rhode Island. The areas of the states (including water area) are: New England's long rolling hills, mountains, and jagged coastline are glacial landforms resulting from the retreat of ice sheets approximately 18,000 years ago, during the last glacial period . New England
1596-420: Is very high technology manufacturing, such as jet engines, nuclear submarines, pharmaceuticals, robotics, scientific instruments, and medical devices. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology invented the format for university-industry relations in high tech fields and spawned many software and hardware firms, some of which grew rapidly. By the 21st century, the region had become famous for its leadership roles in
1680-464: The Dominion of New England , an administrative union including all of the New England colonies. In 1688, the former Dutch colonies of New York , East New Jersey , and West New Jersey were added to the dominion. The union was imposed from the outside and contrary to the rooted democratic tradition of the colonies, and it was highly unpopular among the colonists. The dominion significantly modified
1764-498: The Mayflower Compact before leaving the ship, and it became their first governing document. The Massachusetts Bay Colony came to dominate the area and was established by royal charter in 1629 with its major town and port of Boston established in 1630. Massachusetts Puritans began to establish themselves in Connecticut as early as 1633. Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts for theological reasons; he led
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#17327654827581848-604: The New Deal coalition and making the once-Republican region into one that was closely divided. However, the enormous spending on munitions, ships, electronics, and uniforms during World War II caused a burst of prosperity in every sector. The region lost most of its factories starting with the loss of textiles in the 1930s and getting worse after 1960. The New England economy was radically transformed after World War II. The factory economy practically disappeared. Once-bustling New England communities fell into economic decay following
1932-684: The New England Company , again in association with Lord Brooke and ten others. They appointed John Winthrop the Younger to act as governor and established a fort at the mouth of the river, to which they gave the name of "Sayebrook." Next they sent over a shipload of colonists. In 1633, Saye and Brooke also purchased a plantation at Cocheco or Dover, in what is now New Hampshire , from some Bristol merchants. The two men both contemplated settling in New England, but they demanded that an emigrant hereditary aristocracy be established as
2016-628: The New York metropolitan area . The U.S. Census Bureau groups Fairfield , New Haven and Litchfield counties in western Connecticut together with New York City and other parts of New York and New Jersey as a combined statistical area . The following are metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the United States Census Bureau . William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele (28 June 1582 – 14 April 1662)
2100-877: The Penobscot River in Maine. The Narragansetts and smaller tribes under their sovereignty lived in Rhode Island, west of Narragansett Bay, including Block Island . The Wampanoags occupied southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket . The Pocumtucks lived in Western Massachusetts, and the Mohegan and Pequot tribes lived in Connecticut. The Connecticut River Valley linked numerous tribes culturally, linguistically, and politically. As early as 1600 CE, French, Dutch, and English traders began exploring
2184-574: The Puritan work ethic , in contrast to the Southern colonies which focused on agricultural production while importing finished goods from England. By 1686, King James II had become concerned about the increasingly independent ways of the colonies, including their self-governing charters, their open flouting of the Navigation Acts , and their growing military power. He therefore established
2268-668: The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with his war on "unlisted securities". Hull gave testimony to the US Senate (Sen. Duncan Upshaw Fletcher ) for work on the Pecora Commission , which revealed that neither Albert H. Wiggin (born in Medfield, MA) nor J. P. Morgan Jr. had paid any income taxes in 1931 and 1932; a public outcry ensued. Boston figured prominently on the subject of securities laws in
2352-634: The Siege of Boston by continental troops. In March 1776, British forces were compelled to retreat from Boston. After the dissolution of the Dominion of New England, the colonies of New England ceased to function as a unified political unit but remained a defined cultural region. There were often disputes over territorial jurisdiction, leading to land exchanges such as those regarding the Equivalent Lands and New Hampshire Grants . By 1784, all of
2436-619: The White Mountains , and then into Maine and Canada. Mount Washington in New Hampshire is the highest peak in the Northeast, although it is not among the ten highest peaks in the eastern United States. It is the site of the second highest recorded wind speed on Earth, and has the reputation of having the world's most severe weather. The coast of the region, extending from southwestern Connecticut to northeastern Maine,
2520-479: The 17th century the Niantic were pushed out of the land by the neighboring Pequot . In 1614 Dutch explorer Adriaen Block was sent to explore eastern New Netherland, in the process becoming the first European to sail up the Connecticut River. The Dutch, fearing English expansion in the region, sent a group of settlers from New Amsterdam in 1623. This effort would be unsuccessful and the settlers would return after
2604-647: The 1850s, and all of New England became strongly Republican, including areas that had previously been strongholds for both the Whig and the Democratic parties. New England remained solidly Republican until Catholics began to mobilize behind the Democrats, especially in 1928. This led to the end of "Yankee Republicanism" and began New England's relatively swift transition into a consistently Democratic stronghold in national elections. The flow of immigrants continued at
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2688-585: The Beverly Cotton Manufactory. The Connecticut River Valley became a crucible for industrial innovation, particularly the Springfield Armory , pioneering such advances as interchangeable parts and the assembly line which influenced manufacturing processes all around the world. From early in the nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth, the region surrounding Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut served as
2772-828: The New World, trading metal, glass, and cloth for local beaver pelts. On April 10, 1606, King James I of England issued a charter for the Virginia Company , which consisted of the London Company and the Plymouth Company . These two privately funded ventures were intended to claim land for England, to conduct trade, and to return a profit. In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower and established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, beginning
2856-594: The Parliamentarians Nathaniel Fiennes and John Fiennes . His daughter Bridget married her remote cousin Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln , son of the 3rd Earl of Lincoln . Another daughter Ann married Sir Charles Wolseley, 2nd Baronet . The viscounty of Saye and Sele became extinct in 1781, and the barony was subsequently held by the descendants of John Twisleton (died 1682) and his wife Elizabeth (died 1674),
2940-489: The Protestant Great Awakening in the region. Abolitionists who demanded immediate emancipation had their base in the region, such as William Lloyd Garrison , John Greenleaf Whittier , and Wendell Phillips . So too did anti-slavery politicians who wanted to limit the growth of slavery, such as John Quincy Adams , Charles Sumner , and John P. Hale . The anti-slavery Republican Party was formed in
3024-624: The Puritan New Englanders. He was often referred to by his first name Oliver, including by John Adams . The name Oliver remained popular in New England well after his death, despite waning in popularity in England. The town of Cromwell, Connecticut was also named in his honor. As late as 1864, town residents could still recall the plots of land that were to be assigned to the Puritan lords. The badge of Yale 's Saybrook College
3108-622: The United States of the 1930s hit the region hard, with high unemployment in the industrial cities. The Boston Stock Exchange rivaled the New York Stock Exchange in 1930. In the beginning of 1930 John C. Hull , first Securities Director of Massachusetts (1930–1936), helped to mitigate the consequences of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. He was helpful in the passing of
3192-671: The United States and the United Kingdom fought the War of 1812 , New England Federalists organized the Hartford Convention in the winter of 1814 to discuss the region's grievances concerning the war, and to propose changes to the United States Constitution to protect the region's interests and maintain its political power. Radical delegates within the convention proposed the region's secession from
3276-418: The United States' epicenter for advanced manufacturing, drawing skilled workers from all over the world. The rapid growth of textile manufacturing in New England between 1815 and 1860 caused a shortage of workers. Recruiters were hired by mill agents to bring young women and children from the countryside to work in the factories. Between 1830 and 1860, thousands of farm girls moved from rural areas where there
3360-560: The United States, but they were outnumbered by moderates who opposed the idea. Politically, the region often disagreed with the rest of the country. Massachusetts and Connecticut were among the last refuges of the Federalist Party , and New England became the strongest bastion of the new Whig Party when the Second Party System began in the 1830s. The Whigs were usually dominant throughout New England, except in
3444-474: The advisers of Charles I by his strict compliance with legal forms, earning him the nickname "old subtlety". Although Saye resisted the levy of ship money , he accompanied Charles on his march against the Scots in 1639; but, with only one other peer, he refused to take the oath binding him to fight for the king "to the utmost of my power and hazard of my life". Then Charles I sought to win his favour by making him
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3528-743: The appointment of the governors. After the Glorious Revolution , in 1689, Bostonians overthrew the royal governor, Sir Edmund Andros . During a popular and bloodless uprising , they seized dominion officials and adherents to the Church of England . These tensions eventually culminated in the American Revolution , boiling over with the outbreak of the War of American Independence in 1775. The first battles of which were fought in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts , leading to
3612-470: The army in its struggle with the parliament. In 1648, both at the treaty of Newport and elsewhere, Saye was anxious that Charles should come to terms. After the king was executed, Saye retired into private life. In 1656 he recovered £500 damages from James Whinnel, gentleman of Wisbech. He agreed to donate £100 to the town of Wisbech in the Isle of Ely, with the interest to be used for providing clothing for
3696-411: The attack on Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex . In the parliament of 1626, Saye was back in opposition; he defended the privileges of the peerage against the new king Charles I in the cases of John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol and Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel , and intervened on behalf of Dudley Digges when Buckingham accused him of speaking treason. In the autumn of the same year, he
3780-540: The benevolence levied by the king, saying that he knew no law besides parliament to persuade men to give away their own goods; he spent six months in the Fleet Prison , and then had a period of house arrest. When George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham returned from Spain and proposed to break the Spanish match , the duke and baron became temporary allies. Saye became Viscount Saye and Sele in 1624. He pressed home
3864-488: The best land under the colony's charter, to respect the authority of the new colony. Unfortunately, Winthrop was given no instructions on incorporating these settlers into the colonial government and Winthrop was unwilling to acquiesce to the gentlemen investors demands of securing large plots of lands for themselves. Winthrop finally arrived in the colony in April of 1636, but seeing a lack of funding, settlers unwilling to accept
3948-628: The bloodiest of which was the Pequot War in 1637 which resulted in the Mystic massacre . On May 19, 1643, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven , and Connecticut joined in a loose compact called the New England Confederation (officially "The United Colonies of New England"). The confederation was designed largely to coordinate mutual defense, and it gained some importance during King Philip's War which pitted
4032-489: The border between Vermont and New York, is the largest lake in the region, followed by Moosehead Lake in Maine and Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. The climate of New England varies greatly across its 500 miles (800 km) span from northern Maine to southern Connecticut: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and western Massachusetts have a humid continental climate (Dfb in Köppen climate classification ). In this region
4116-451: The charters of the colonies, including the appointment of royal governors to nearly all of them. There was an uneasy tension among the royal governors, their officers, and the elected governing bodies of the colonies. The governors wanted unlimited authority, and the different layers of locally elected officials would often resist them. In most cases, the local town governments continued operating as self-governing bodies, just as they had before
4200-474: The coast, which enabled numerous cities to take advantage of water power along the many rivers, such as the Connecticut River , which bisects the region from north to south. Each state is generally subdivided into small municipalities known as towns , many of which are governed by town meetings . Unincorporated areas are practically nonexistent outside of Maine, and village-style governments common in other areas are limited to Vermont and Connecticut. New England
4284-518: The colonists and their Indian allies against a widespread Indian uprising from June 1675 through April 1678, resulting in killings and massacres on both sides. In the aftermath of settler-Native conflicts, hundreds of captive Indians were sold into slavery . Up until 1700, Native Americans comprised a majority of the non-white labor force in colonial New England. During the next 74 years, there were six colonial wars that took place primarily between New England and New France , during which New England
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#17327654827584368-509: The colony the land from the Narragansett Bay to the Pacific Ocean . Saybrook was named in honor of two of its primary investors, the Lords Saye and Sele and Brooke . John Winthrop the Younger was contracted as the colony's first governor, but quickly left Saybrook after failing to enforce its authority over Connecticut's settlers. With Winthrop gone, Lion Gardiner was left in charge of Saybrook's considerable fort, defending it when it
4452-469: The colony's authority, and hostile Indians, returned to Boston just a few months into his year long contract as governor, leaving Lion Gardiner in charge of the fort. The three doors of Fort Saybrook were ten feet high and four feet wide, encircling an area of two hundred square feet. Several of the colony's settlers were veterans of the Thirty Years' War . Among these settlers was Lion Gardiner, who
4536-543: The colony, Winthrop named it in honor of William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele and Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke , prominent Parliamentarians and the principal investors in the colony. After securing the area from the Dutch, Winthrop, along with Hugh Peter and Henry Vane the Younger spent the winter of 1635-36 attempting to convince the settlers of the Connecticut Valley , who had occupied much of
4620-434: The early 1930s in response to the Great Depression. Harvard University professors Felix Frankfurter , Benjamin V. Cohen , and James M. Landis drafted the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was the first chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission , and he was from Boston. The Democrats appealed to factory workers and especially Catholics, pulling them into
4704-444: The eponymous Viscount Saye and Sele and Baron Brooke, the group of investors included future Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell , John Hampden , Arthur Hesilrige , and John Pym . The investment group had previously funded the failed colonies of Providence Island and Cocheco . The Puritan gentlemen, however, were not allowed to leave England and found it difficult to discretely sell their English estates. By September of 1635, reports of
4788-466: The fields of education, medicine, medical research, high-technology, finance, and tourism. Some industrial areas were slow in adjusting to the new service economy. In 2000, New England had two of the ten poorest cities in the U.S. (by percentage living below the poverty line): the state capitals of Providence, Rhode Island and Hartford, Connecticut . They were no longer in the bottom ten by 2010; Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire remain among
4872-433: The flight of the region's industrial base. The textile mills one by one went out of business from the 1920s to the 1970s. For example, the Crompton Company went bankrupt in 1984 after 178 years in business, costing the jobs of 2,450 workers in five states. The major reasons were cheap imports, the strong dollar, declining exports, and a failure to diversify. The shoe industry subsequently left the region as well. What remains
4956-400: The gentlemen's intentions had spread and they dared not attempt to emigrate. The investors instead offered to join the Massachusetts Bay Colony on the condition that they be established in the Massachusetts government as a hereditary nobility, a condition rejected by the colony due to its lack of a requirement that freemen be church members. John Winthrop Jr. of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
5040-441: The group of Puritan entrepreneurs, a company to settle the Providence Island colony . It was to be developed on what is now known as Isla de Providencia in the Caribbean Sea , part of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina , and a department of the nation of Colombia . Saye obtained a patent for a large tract of land on the Connecticut River on 19 March 1632 from Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick and
5124-422: The harbor. Britain responded with a series of punitive laws stripping Massachusetts of self-government which the colonists called the " Intolerable Acts ". These confrontations led to the first battles of the American Revolutionary War in 1775 and the expulsion of the British authorities from the region in spring 1776. The region played a prominent role in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States, and it
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#17327654827585208-423: The history of permanent European colonization in New England. In 1616, English explorer John Smith named the region "New England". The name was officially sanctioned on November 3, 1620, when the charter of the Virginia Company of Plymouth was replaced by a royal charter for the Plymouth Council for New England , a joint-stock company established to colonize and govern the region. The Pilgrims wrote and signed
5292-420: The largest city in New Hampshire; and Providence, Rhode Island , the capital of and largest city in Rhode Island. In 1620, the Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony , the second successful settlement in British America after the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia , founded in 1607. Ten years later, Puritans established Massachusetts Bay Colony north of Plymouth Colony. Over the next 126 years, people in
5376-426: The more Democratic Maine and New Hampshire. New England was key to the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The Blackstone Valley running through Massachusetts and Rhode Island has been called the birthplace of America's industrial revolution. In 1787, the first cotton mill in America was founded in the North Shore seaport of Beverly, Massachusetts as the Beverly Cotton Manufactory . The Manufactory
5460-420: The neighboring Connecticut Colony for an annual payment of 180 pounds, one third wheat, one third peas, and one third rye or barley. After selling the colony, Fenwick returned to England where he served as a colonel in the Civil War and became Member of Parliament for Morpeth and later governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed . Though he ultimately decided not to settle in Saybrook, Cromwell was long warmly regarded by
5544-444: The northeast and Quebec to the north. The Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean are to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the southwest. Boston is New England's largest city and the capital of Massachusetts. Greater Boston is the largest metropolitan area, with nearly a third of New England's population; this area includes Worcester, Massachusetts , the second-largest city in New England; Manchester, New Hampshire ,
5628-412: The poor and administered by his son Richard Fiennes. Saye became a privy counsellor again upon the restoration of Charles II . He died at Broughton Castle on 14 April 1662. Fiennes married Elizabeth, youngest daughter of John Temple of Stowe , in 1600. She was born in May 1585 and was about fifteen at marriage. Their eldest son James (c. 1603–1674) succeeded him as 2nd viscount; other sons were
5712-475: The region fought in four French and Indian Wars until the English colonists and their Iroquois allies defeated the French and their Algonquian allies. In the late 18th century, political leaders from the New England colonies initiated resistance to Britain's taxes without the consent of the colonists . Residents of Rhode Island captured and burned a British ship which was enforcing unpopular trade restrictions, and residents of Boston threw British tea into
5796-628: The rest of New England. New England contains forested ecosystems with a variety of terrestrial vertebrates. Land-use patterns and land disturbance, such as the dramatic increase in land clearing for agriculture in the mid eighteenth century to nineteenth century, greatly altered the ecosystem and resulted in extinctions, local extirpations , and recolonizations. According to an analysis of USDA Forest Service data, tree species diversity increases from north to south at about two to three species per degree in latitude. In addition, taller trees are associated with higher tree species diversity, and tree height
5880-406: The states in the region had taken steps towards the abolition of slavery, with Vermont and Massachusetts introducing total abolition in 1777 and 1783, respectively. The nickname "Yankeeland" was sometimes used to denote the New England area, especially among Southerners and the British. Vermont was admitted to statehood in 1791 after settling a dispute with New York. The territory of Maine had been
5964-414: The ten wealthiest states in the United States in terms of median household income and per capita income. The states of New England have a combined area, including water surfaces, of 71,988 square miles (186,447 km ), making the region slightly larger than the state of Washington and slightly smaller than Great Britain . Maine alone constitutes nearly one-half of the total area of New England, yet
6048-452: The winters are long and cold, and heavy snow is common (most locations receive 60–120 inches (150–300 cm) of snow annually in this region). The summer's months are moderately warm, though summer is rather short and rainfall is spread through the year. In central and eastern Massachusetts, northern Rhode Island, and northern Connecticut, the same humid continental prevails (Dfa), though summers are warm to hot, winters are shorter, and there
6132-904: Was allied with the Iroquois Confederacy and New France was allied with the Wabanaki Confederacy . Mainland Nova Scotia came under the control of New England after the Siege of Port Royal (1710) , but both New Brunswick and most of Maine remained contested territory between New England and New France. The British eventually defeated the French in 1763, opening the Connecticut River Valley for British settlement into western New Hampshire and Vermont. The New England Colonies were settled primarily by farmers who became relatively self-sufficient. Later, New England's economy began to focus on crafts and trade, aided by
6216-545: Was also considered the largest cotton mill of its time. Technological developments and achievements from the Manufactory led to the development of more advanced cotton mills, including Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island . Towns such as Lawrence, Massachusetts , Lowell, Massachusetts , Woonsocket, Rhode Island , and Lewiston, Maine became centers of the textile industry following the innovations at Slater Mill and
6300-571: Was among those who refused to pay the forced loan. In the parliament of 1628, he employed with success the right of peers to protest. In the debates on the Petition of Right , he opposed the reservations and amendments of the court party. During the personal rule of Charles I , Saye devoted time and money to schemes of colonisation: his motives were in part financial, but also religious and political. In 1630 he established, together with Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke , John Pym , and others from
6384-480: Was an English nobleman and politician. He was a leading critic of Charles I's rule during the 1620s and 1630s. He was known also for his involvement in several companies for setting up overseas colonies. He was born at the family home of Broughton Castle near Banbury , in Oxfordshire , the only son of Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Saye and Sele , and his wife Constance, daughter of Sir William Kingsmill. He
6468-536: Was besieged during the Pequot War . Governor George Fenwick arrived in the colony in 1639, but quickly saw it as a lost cause. Fenwick negotiated the colony's sale to Connecticut in 1644 after interest in colonization dried up due to the investors' involvement in the English Civil War . The area that would become the site of the colony was originally inhabited by the Niantic people , however, early in
6552-407: Was educated at New College, Oxford . He was a descendant and heir of the sister of William of Wykeham , the college's founder. Fiennes succeeded to his father's barony in 1613. During the latter part of James I's reign, Saye was one of the most prominent opponents of the court. In 1621 he was active against Francis Bacon , and urged that he should be degraded from the peerage. In 1622 he opposed
6636-500: Was hired to remove the Dutch from the area and did so with a group of twenty men and two cannons. When his men found the coat of arms of the Dutch West India Company nailed to a tree, they took it down and replaced it with a shield with a smiling face. Shortly after the seizure a Dutch ship came to the rivers mouth but was intimidated by the English cannons, surrendering the fort to English control. After establishing
6720-503: Was in charge of constructing the fort and planning the town. As the fort was being constructed, Gardiner's wife Mary gave birth to a son, David, the first European child born in Connecticut. The defensive precautions would prove useful when during the Pequot War the colony withstood a siege from September 1636 to April 1637, the longest engagement of the war. The fort lasted from 1635 to the winter of 1647/48 when it burned down, though it
6804-486: Was no paid employment to work in the nearby mills, such as the Lowell Mill Girls . As the textile industry grew, immigration also grew. By the 1850s, immigrants began working in the mills, especially French Canadians and Irish . New England as a whole was the most industrialized part of the United States. By 1850, the region accounted for well over a quarter of all manufacturing value in the country and over
6888-601: Was quickly replaced with another fort closer to the river. In 1639 George Fenwick arrived in the colony to replace Winthrop as governor. The colony would soon struggle with the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, with the colony's backers canceling plans to settle in Saybrook, instead deciding to fight for the Parliamentarian cause. With English support lost, Fenwick negotiated to sell the colony to
6972-572: Was sold to Connecticut three years later. Saye was one of the commissioners for the government from Westminster of the plantations appointed on 2 November 1643. Old Saybrook, Connecticut is named after Viscount Saye and Lord Brooke. Leading puritans, including John Pym, who were members of the Providence Island Company met Saye at Broughton Castle to coordinate their opposition to the King. On several occasions, Saye outwitted
7056-578: Was the first region of the U.S. transformed by the Industrial Revolution , initially centered on the Blackstone and Merrimack river valleys. The physical geography of New England is diverse. Southeastern New England is covered by a narrow coastal plain , while the western and northern regions are dominated by the rolling hills and worn-down peaks of the northern end of the Appalachian Mountains . The Atlantic fall line lies close to
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