Overview
The Connecticut Colony was an English Colony in North America. It became one of the 13 Original Colonies that voted to declare independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776, and played an important role in the American Revolution. Later, Connecticut’s delegates to the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. Those men were — Samuel Huntington, Roger Sherman, William Williams, and Oliver Wolcott Sr.
Essential Facts
- Region: The colonies are generally divided into three regions — New England, Middle, and Southern. Connecticut Colony was one of the New England Colonies.
- First Settlement: The first English permanent settlement in Connecticut was Wethersfield.
- First Settlement Established: Wethersfield was established in 1634.
- Purpose: The first English settlements in Connecticut were founded by Puritans seeking religious freedom.
- Charter: Connecticut received a Royal Charter from King Charles II on May 3, 1662.
Significance
Connecticut Colony is important to American History because it was one of the Original 13 Colonies and helped establish self-government through the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. When the colony received its charter in 1662, it retained the right of self-government. Later, when the Crown tried to consolidate the New England Colonies under the government called the Dominion of New England, Connecticut resisted. Connecticut leaders went so far as to hide their charter in an oak tree so Governor Edmund Andros could not take it from them.
History
Adriaen Block Explores the Connecticut River Valley
The first European to explore the area that became the Connecticut Colony was Dutch trader Adriaen Block, who sailed up the Connecticut River in 1614 during an expedition for the Dutch West India Company. His purpose was to explore the area, map it, and claim the eastern coast of New Netherland for the Dutch. The mouth of the Connecticut River was northeast of New Amsterdam — present-day New York City — and is north of Long Island, across Long Island Sound. The Dutch wanted to strengthen their presence east of New Amsterdam, which eventually reached all the way to present-day Rhode Island.
Dutch Trading Posts and the Pequot
The Dutch wanted to control the Fur Trade with the Native American Indians in the area — mainly the Pequot Tribe. The Dutch and Pequot first encountered each other in 1614.
To control trade with the Indians, the Dutch set up trading posts along the Connecticut River. For the most part, the Dutch avoided conflict with their English competitors from Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay.
The Pequot were an Algonquian-speaking people who lived in the Thames River Valley of southeastern Connecticut. They wanted to control the Fur Trade with Europeans in the area and forced other tribes in the region to submit to them. Tribes such as the Narragansett, Nipmuc, and Mattabesic traded with the Pequot, who then traded with the Dutch.
The arrangement created tension between the tribes, especially with the Narragansett. Because of this, many tribes allied themselves with the English and fought against the Pequot during the Pequot War.
Plymouth Colony and the Dutch at Saybrook Point
In September 1620, the Pilgrims — a group of Puritan Separatists — left England and sailed to the New World. They sailed across the ocean in the Mayflower and established a permanent settlement, Plymouth Colony, on Cape Cod Bay, east of the territory of New Netherland.
On November 3, 1620, King James I granted the “Great Patent of New England” to the Council for New England. This gave the Council the authority to govern the territory of New England in America.
The Dutch became concerned that Plymouth Colony would start trading with the Indians. In 1623, the Dutch responded by sending a group of settlers to present-day Saybrook Point, where the Connecticut River flows into Long Island Sound, to establish a colony.
The Warwick Patent and Saybrook
In 1631, the head of the Council for New England, Robert Rich, the Earl of Warwick, created a document that granted land to a group of “Lords and Gentlemen” — known as the Warwick Patentees — for land in New England. However, Warwick had no legal authority to grant the land to anyone. Despite this, the area known as Saybrook was established.
- The land was part of the territory controlled by the Council for New England.
- The patent is sometimes called the “Old Patent” or “Connecticut’s First Charter.”
- The territory in the patent ran from the Narragansett River north to Greenwich.
- It was a “sea to sea” patent, so it stretched west, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Saybrook Point was in the patent’s territory.
- Two original Warwick Patentees were Lord Saye & Sele and Lord Brooke, which is how the area became known as Saybrook.
Kievets Hook and the House of Hope
In 1632, the Governor of New Netherland, Wouter Van Twiller, sent Captain Hans Eechuys to Saybrook Point. When he arrived, he bought the land from the local Indians and built a small trading post called Kievets Hook.
The following year, 1633, the Dutch traders built a fort further north up the river, which they called “Huys de Hoop,” or the House of Hope, in the South Meadows area of present-day Hartford.
The House of Hope strengthened the Dutch presence in the area and served as a trading post with the Pequot. Its presence also discouraged the English from trading with Indian tribes in the area, who were subservient to the Pequot.
Plymouth Fort at Windsor
The English responded by building a fort of their own. In late September 1633, a group of men from Plymouth Colony sailed north, passed the Dutch fort, and built a fortified trading post where the Farmington River flows into the Connecticut River.
This trading post, which was under the command of William Holds, gave the English an advantage over the Dutch because it was further north, near present-day Windsor. This meant that Indians traveling downriver to the Dutch trading posts would pass the English trading post first.
The Dutch commissioner, Jacob Van Curler, wrote to Holmes and demanded the English abandon the fort. Holmes did not respond, so the Dutch attacked the fort with about 70 men. The English successfully repelled the attack. Afterward, the Dutch tried to set up another trading post further north, but construction ended due to an outbreak of smallpox.
John Oldham and Establishment of Wethersfield
In 1633, John Oldham, a trader from Massachusetts, sailed up the Connecticut River and traded with Indians.
In 1634, Oldham and a group of traders arrived at present-day Wethersfield, south of Hartford, and established a settlement there.
On May 6, 1635, some of the inhabitants of Watertown, Massachusetts, asked the Massachusetts Court for permission to leave the colony. The request was granted, and they settled at Wethersfield.
English Settlement at Windsor
On June 3, 1635, the inhabitants of Dorchester, Massachusetts, were given permission by the Massachusetts Court to leave the colony and move to the area near the Plymouth fort at Windsor. Two groups from Dorchester started to prepare to move to Windsor. The first group, led by Roger Ludlow, arrived in the early fall, and the second group, led by Sir Richard Saltonstall, arrived later.
The Plymouth fort continued to trade with the Indians and provided support for settlers in the area until May 1637, when it was bought out by the settlers from Dorchester who moved to the area.
Warwick Patentees Establish Saybrook Colony
In October 1635, the Warwick Patentees gave John Winthrop Jr. a commission to be the first Governor of their colony, which would become Saybrook. In November, the Saybrook Company took possession of the mouth of the Connecticut River.
On April 1, 1636, Winthrop and Lieutenant Lion Gardiner arrived at Saybrook Point to oversee the settlement. Winthrop had Gardiner supervise the construction of a fort and lay out the plan for a small town with homes for the Warwick Patentees. Winthrop named the settlement Saye-Brook.
In the fall, Winthrop learned the Dutch planned to establish a permanent settlement at Saybrook Point because their previous effort failed. On November 24, Winthrop sent 20 men on a small ship to fortify the point. They positioned two cannons on the shore to help defend it.
Although the inhabitants of Saybrook were on good terms with the local Indians, the Pequot wanted the English to leave. Because of this, the Pequot frequently attacked the fort.
On April 26, 1636, Lieutenant Gardiner’s wife gave birth to their son, David. The boy was the first child of European parents born in what would eventually be the Connecticut Colony.
Winthrop Jr. served as Governor of Saybrook until 1639, when George Fenwick, another one of the Warrick Patentees, arrived at the colony.
Thomas Hooker Establishes Hartford
In 1636, more people left Massachusetts and moved to Connecticut. In June, Thomas Hooker led a group of Puritans who established a settlement at present-day Hartford near the Dutch fort. Hooker originally called the settlement Newtown. The settlement quickly grew and was renamed Hartford.
Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor were known as the River Towns, and Hartford was the most important to Connecticut’s growth and development.
The Pequot War in Connecticut Colony
Eventually, the English trade with the tribes in southeastern Connecticut challenged the Pequot, ending their control of the Fur Trade and leading to the Pequot War.
Massachusetts Bay Attacks the Pequot
In the summer of 1634, the members of an English trading expedition led by John Stone were murdered by the Pequot. Two years later, on July 20, 1636, a group of Manisses Indians from Block Island killed the English trader John Oldham. These murders concerned the people of Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the government decided to take action against the Pequot, even though the Indians lived in Connecticut’s territory.
Following Oldham’s death, Massachusetts organized a military expedition under the command of Colonel John Endicott.
- On August 24, 1636, Endicott and his men attacked the Manisses on Block Island, just south of the Rhode Island mainland.
- In the attack, the Puritans killed several Manisses and burned some wigwams and cornfields.
From there, Endicott went to Saybrook and met with Lieutenant Lion Gardiner. Endicott told Gardiner he intended to attack the Pequot village on the Thames River. This surprised Gardiner and the people living in Saybrook and the River Towns, who were unaware Massachusetts was waging war on the Pequot.
Gardiner opposed Endicott’s plan because he believed the Pequot would retaliate against the Connecticut towns. Despite these concerns, Gardiner agreed to send men with Endicott to aid in the attack.
On August 29, Endicott attacked the Pequot village and burned most of the homes and buildings on both sides of the Thames River. Afterward, Endicott and the Massachusetts men went home.
Siege and Battle of Fort Saybrook
As Gardiner expected, the Pequot retaliated, attacked Fort Saybrook, and laid siege to it in September 1636.
- The Pequot attacked anyone who went too far from the fort.
- They burned fields, warehouses, and livestock.
- The Pequot tried to isolate the fort from all river traffic and contact with the other settlements along the river.
Pequot Attack on Wethersfield
Raids continued and escalated with the Attack on Wethersfield on April 23, 1673. A large force of Pequot warriors, around 200, attacked a group of Wethersfield settlers traveling to their fields in the Great Meadow along the Connecticut River. The Pequot killed nine men and women and took two girls as prisoners.
Connecticut Declares War on the Pequot
On May 1, 1637, the General Court at Hartford declared war on the Pequot. The declaration of war authorized a force of 90 men to be raised from Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor. Captain John Mason of Windsor was given command and ordered to attack Pequot villages at Mistick and Weinshauks.
- Mason’s Connecticut force marched to Fort Saybrook.
- At Fort Saybrook, Mason was joined by a contingent of troops from Massachusetts Bay under the command of Captain John Underhill.
- The English were joined by an Indian force of Mohegan and Connecticut River warriors under the command of the Mohegan sachem Uncas.
The Mystic Massacre
Early on May 26, the English and their Indian allies approached the Pequot fort and moved into position to attack. The fort had two entrances, one on the northeast and one on the southwest. The Puritans forced their way in and set fire to the buildings inside the fort’s walls.
There was a strong wind, which fanned the flames and quickly spread the fire. The Puritans fled to safety while their Indian allies surrounded the fort. Outside the walls, the Puritans and Indians killed anyone who tried to escape. Historians estimate that somewhere between 400 and 700 Pequot men, women, and children were dead within an hour.
Aftermath of Mistick Fort
The Pequot suffered heavy losses to their people at Mistick Fort, not only in the massacre but also in the fighting that followed. They knew they were vulnerable to another attack, so many decided to leave their villages and homes. Some sought refuge with the Narragansetts and other tribes. These Pequots joined those tribes and never returned to their homes.
Battle of the Northeast
However, two Pequot sachems, Sassacus and Mononotto, wanted to continue the fight. They moved out of the Pequot territory and went in different directions, looking for support from other tribes to help them fight against the English and their Indian allies.
Sassacus took a group of about 200 Pequots, including men, women, and children, and moved west along the coast. He tried to raise support from allies in the villages near New Haven and Fairfield. Mononotto moved north, joined forces with the Wunnashowatuckoogs, and planned to attack the Narragansetts.
In June 1637, the Pequots and their allies, under the leadership of Mononotto, engaged the Narragansetts somewhere in east-central Connecticut. The Pequots were defeated, and Mononotto retreated. He moved west along the coast to meet Sassacus near Fairfield.
The Great Swamp Fight at Fairfield
The English, determined to find Sassacus, organized another expedition to track him and the remaining Pequots. In June or July, a force of English, including Indian warriors, left Fort Saybrook and started the search for Sassacus.
They went to Long Island, where the Montauk Indians told them Sassacus was near New Haven. When they arrived at New Haven, they discovered Sassacus had taken refuge with the Sasqua Tribe near Fairfield. The English continued to New Haven.
While they marched to New Haven, Sassacus and a small group left the Sasqua village and went north to the territory of the Mohawks in New Netherland, near Albany.
On July 13, the English arrived and climbed to the top of a hill. From there, they could see the Sasqua village, which was still about two miles away. However, the Sasquas and Pequots saw the Puritans on the hill. They fled from the village and hid in Munnacommuck Swamp, most likely in the area of present-day Southport, Connecticut, just west of Fairfield.
The English marched to the swamp, encircled it, and fierce fighting broke out. The Pequot and Sasqua women and children were allowed to leave the swamp after a few hours. However, they were all taken prisoner.
Over the next 24 hours, the English slowly closed in on the Pequot and Sasqua warriors. The fight was brutal as men tried to escape the swamp and engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
On July 14, a thick fog hung over the swamp in the morning. A group of Pequot and Sasqua warriors broke through the Puritan lines and escaped.
Capture of Sassacus
Sassacus and his small group were spotted by Indian scouts near present-day Dover Plains, New York. The Indians attacked, but Sassacus and his men escaped.
By late July, Sassacus and his men were west of Danbury, Connecticut. They were camped there when a group of Mohegans and Mohawks attacked them. Sassacus was killed, ending the fight for the Pequots.
Settlement of New Haven Colony
On March 30, 1638, the New Haven Colony was established near the old Pequot settlement at Quinnipiac. The founders were John Davenport and Theophilus Easton.
Tripartite Treaty Ends the Pequot War — September 21, 1638
On September 21, 1638, the Puritans, Mohegans, and Narragansetts agreed to a treaty officially ending the Pequot War. The Tripartite Treaty — or Treaty of Hartford — established peace between the Mohegans and Narragansetts.
- The Mohegans and Narragansetts agreed to take any issues to the English to be resolved peacefully rather than through violence.
- The two tribes also agreed they would not aid any enemies of the English — primarily the few Pequots who survived the war.
- As for the estimated 200 Pequots who were being held as prisoners, they were divided up and sold to the two tribes for wampum.
The war itself had devastated the Pequots to the point that they no longer existed as a tribe, but the provisions of the treaty took things further.
- It stipulated that the Pequots could not refer to themselves by that name and had to take on the name of the tribe they were sold to.
- The treaty also outlawed their language.
The English also took the land of the Pequots and forbade them from returning. The Mohegans and Narragansetts also agreed they would not move into the territory, which opened up southeastern Connecticut for more English settlers.
Ultimately, the treaty eliminated the Pequot from Connecticut and established the English as the dominant authority, superseding all Indian tribes.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
In 1639, Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor formed a unified government under the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut — the first written constitution in America.
- The Orders created a General Assembly and established annual elections.
- The Orders also provided for the popular election of a Governor.
- John Haynes was elected as the first Governor.
New England Confederation
In 1643, several colonies reacted to the Pequot War by forming the New England Confederation, a military alliance. Its purpose was to organize defenses against attacks from the French, Dutch, and Native Americans.
Connecticut, New Haven, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay were members of the Confederation. Representatives from each colony met in Boston in May 1643 to develop the New England Articles of Confederation. On May 19, the representatives signed the Articles.
In the fall of 1644, Rhode Island asked to join the Confederation. However, the other colonies—all controlled by Puritans—said Rhode Island could, but only if it merged with another colony. This would have threatened Rhode Island’s religious freedom and separation of church and state.
To protect Rhode Island’s interest, Roger Williams sailed to England and requested a charter for the colony. On March 14, 1644, Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Plantations granted a charter to Rhode Island. Despite the charter, Rhode Island was still rejected by the Confederation.
Saybrook Joins the River Colony
In 1644, the Governor of Saybrook Colony, George Fenwick, decided to join the River Colony. The River Colony bought the land and Fort Saybrook from Fenwick.
First Connecticut Code
In 1642, the Connecticut settlements adopted a set of laws called the Capital Laws of 1642, based on Massachusetts laws. In May 1650, the Connecticut General Court adopted new regulations called the First Connecticut Code.
- Roger Ludlow wrote the First Connecticut Code, which is sometimes called Ludlow’s Laws.
- The First Connecticut Code amended the Capital Laws of 1642
- The Code established new laws specific to the Connecticut Colony.
Treaty of Hartford — September 19, 1650
In 1650, the Governor of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, traveled to Hartford and met with Connecticut Governor Edward Hopkins. On September 19, they agreed to a treaty that set the boundaries of Connecticut and New Netherland. Connecticut was given a portion of Long Island as part of the treaty, which helped grow the English population along the coast of Long Island Sound and the eastern portion of Long Island.
First Anglo-Dutch War — 1652
In 1652, the First Anglo-Dutch War broke out. The cause was the passage of the Navigation Act of 1651, which banned Dutch ships from transporting goods to and from the English colonies. Because Connecticut and New Haven were near New Netherland, they believed the war threatened their safety. They appealed to the New England Confederation for military support, but the other members decided to remain neutral and refused.
Connecticut Charter of 1662 and Merger with New Haven
The Stuart Restoration occurred in England in 1660 and led to King Charles II ascending the throne. As part of the restoration, the Church of England was given more power to participate in politics and enforce its rules.
When news reached Connecticut, the political leaders were concerned the new government would take control of the colony and restrict Puritan religious orthodoxy and civil law. At the time, John Winthrop Jr. was the Governor of Connecticut, and he sailed to England to attempt to secure a charter for the colony from King Charles II.
In May 1662, with the help of Lord Saye and Sele, Lord Brook, and the Earl of Manchester, Winthrop secured a charter, which was more generous than the leaders of Connecticut expected.
- The charter legalized their colony under English law.
- It granted the freemen of the colony the right of self-government.
- It provided for elections for the Governor, Deputy Governor, 12 assistants, and a General Assembly.
- The colony was free to pass laws as long as they did not conflict with existing English laws.
- It was a “sea to sea” charter that established the colony’s eastern boundary as Narragansett Bay and its western boundary as the Pacific Ocean.
- It permitted Connecticut to absorb New Haven.
In 1664, New Haven merged with Connecticut, although the process was not completed until 1665.
King Philip’s War in Colonial Connecticut
As the English expanded throughout New England, tension grew between the Indian tribes and the English colonies, leading to King Philip’s War. Even the Wampanoags, who had been on good terms with the Pilgrims, and the Narragansetts, who were friendly with Rhode Island, were frustrated. The other tribes involved were the Mohegans, Podunks, and Nipmucks.
Death of John Sassamon
In 1675, a rumor spread in Plymouth Colony that the leader of the Wampanoags, Metacomet, also known as King Philip, was organizing the tribes in the region to attack English settlements.
- The source of this rumor was John Sassamon, a “Praying Indian” who had converted to Christianity and attended and graduated from Harvard.
- Plymouth leaders had reason to believe Sassamon because he had been an advisor to King Philip.
- Soon after, Sassamon was found dead, presumably murdered on orders of King Philip.
Three Wampanoag men were convicted of Sassamon’s murder and hanged on June 8, 1675. Although six Indians were on the jury, the Wampanoag believed the trial and sentencing should have been left to them, not the English.
Wampanoag Attack on Swansea
The incident led Indian warriors to attack Swansea in Plymouth Colony on June 20, 1675. A little more than a week later, on June 28, Plymouth and Massachusetts responded by sending a combined force to attack the Wampanoag at Mount Hope on the Taunton River, near present-day Bristol, Rhode Island. The town was destroyed, but the Wampanoag were able to escape.
The New England Confederation Declares War
The war spread quickly throughout New England. The Podunk and Nimpunk joined with the Wampanoag to attack towns, and the New England Confederation declared war on September 9, 1675.
Great Swamp Fight
Rhode Island and its allies, the Narragansett, tried to remain neutral in the conflict. However, in December 1675, a colonial force, including Connecticut troops, moved against the Narragansett at South Kingston, Rhode Island. The colonial forces attacked the Narragansett village and destroyed it in what is called the Great Swamp Fight.
Attack on Simsbury
King Philip’s forces continued to attack settlements in 1676, including Simsbury, Connecticut, on March 26. Afterward, the Indian alliance started to break down, and the colonial forces gathered strength. Large numbers of Indians were taken prisoner and sold into slavery by Major John Talcott of Simsbury.
Death of King Philip
Colonial forces led by Captain Benjamin Church followed King Philip to Mount Hope, Rhode Island. On August 12, 1676, King Philip was shot and killed by an Indian named John Alderman. King Philip was beheaded, and his body was drawn and quartered. For the next 20 years, his head was displayed in Plymouth. Eventually, it was stolen and ended up in the hands of his descendants.
Effects of King Philip’s War on New England
The war was brutal, and both sides suffered heavy casualties from the fighting and disease. Several hundred Indian prisoners were enslaved and sold in Bermuda. Many moved away from New England and joined tribes to the north and the west. The Narragansett, Wampanoag, Podunk, and Nipmuck were almost entirely wiped out, and the Mohegans were significantly weakened.
Although King Philip was defeated, the devastation left by the war took its toll on New England. At least a dozen English towns were destroyed, and many more suffered significant damage. The loss of property and lives hurt the economy.
Dominion of New England and the Charter Oak
In 1686, King James II of England and the Board of Trade decided to merge the colonies in New England together under a single government. Under the new arrangement, the colonies were known as the “Dominion of New England.” The purpose of the Dominion was to streamline English oversight of the colonies and give England more control over trade, land titles, and coordination of colonial defenses. The first territories that were part of the Dominion were Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, the Province of New Hampshire, and part of Rhode Island.
In June 1686, Sir Edmund Andros became the Governor of the Dominion, and his jurisdiction was extended to Connecticut and the rest of Rhode Island. Andros was unpopular and controversial, and Connecticut refused to comply with his laws.
Andros gathered soldiers and marched to Hartford to seize control of the colony and the Connecticut Charter. Upon arrival, Andros met with the leaders of Connecticut.
According to legend, the candles in the room went out during the meeting, leaving the attendees in the dark. In the confusion, the charter was carried out of the room. From there, it was hidden in a nearby oak tree, so Andros could not find it. The tree, known as the “Charter Oak,” stood until 1856 when it was blown down in a windstorm.
Connecticut’s Colonial Charter Restored
In 1689, the Glorious Revolution took place in England. King James II was forced to flee and was replaced on the throne by King William III and Queen Mary II. The English Bill of Rights and the Act of Toleration were passed as part of the arrangement. When the news reached Boston, the people arrested Andros and threw him in prison, effectively ending the Dominion of New England. The colonies, including Connecticut, restored their charters.
Yale Founded — October 9, 1701
In 1700, a group of 10 ministers, led by James Pierpont of New Haven, met in Branford to discuss starting a college. Each minister provided books to help start the college.
- In October 1701, the General Assembly met and passed “An Act for Liberty to Erect a Collegiate School.”
- Saybrook was chosen as the location for the college, and Abraham Pierson was the first President.
- In 1716, the college was moved to New Haven.
- The “Collegiate School” was renamed “Yale College” in 1718 in honor of Elihu Yale, who donated books and goods.
