Origin of Colonial Connecticut
Connecticut, one of the New England Colonies, was officially founded in 1636 when a group of Puritans, led by Thomas Hooker, left Massachusetts and established a settlement at present-day Hartford.
- Two years later, in 1638, another colony, New Haven, was established in the Connecticut River Valley.
- In 1639, the towns of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield united to form the River Colony.
- In 1643, the River Colony and New Haven joined the New England Confederation.
- In 1662, the River Colony received a charter from King Charles II, renaming it the Colony of Connecticut.
- Two years later, in 1664, New Haven merged with Connecticut.
Throughout its history, Connecticut has been known as the River Colony, Connecticut River Colony, Colony of Connecticut, Plantation of Connecticut, Connecticut Colony, and the Province of Connecticut.
Growth and Expansion
The early European settlements in Connecticut were trading posts near present-day Hartford and Windsor.
- In 1633, Dutch traders in the New Netherlands Colony established a trading post called the House of Good Hope at present-day Hartford, Connecticut.
- The English from Plymouth Colony established a trading post at Windsor in 1633.
Settlements followed these trading posts, including:
- Wethersfield in 1634, which was the first permanent English settlement in Connecticut.
- Hartford in 1636, which was the first permanent English settlement. Thomas Hooker founded it.
Some scholars and historians have argued that Western Expansion of the English colonies started when Thomas Hooker moved west and founded Hartford.
Other Colonies in the Connecticut River Valley
- In 1636, the Saybrook Colony was established at Saybrook Point, at the mouth of the Connecticut River, which flows into Long Island Sound.
- On March 30, 1638, the New Haven Colony was established near Quinnipiac, west of Saybrook, on the southern coast of Connecticut.
Growth and Expansion of the River Colony
The three River Towns — Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor formed a unified government under the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the first written constitution in America. Together, they were known as the River Colony.
- In 1642, the Governor of Saybrook, George Fenwick, sold Saybrook Colony to the River Colony.
- In 1662, Governor John Winthrop Jr. secured a charter from King Charles II. This charter legalized the colony under English law, renamed it Connecticut, and authorized a merger with New Haven.
- New Haven started to merge with Connecticut in 1664, and the process was completed in 1665.
- After the Pequot War, Connecticut signed a treaty with Native American Indian tribes — the Narragansett and Mohegan — which gave the colony control of southeastern Connecticut.
- In 1650, Connecticut signed a treaty with the New Netherlands Colony that defined the borders between the two colonies. Connecticut was given a portion of Long Island, which allowed the colony’s English population to grow and expand.
Government
1662 Charter of Connecticut
Date Granted — King Charles II granted Letters Patent to John Winthrop and a group of businessmen in a charter on April 23, 1662.
Recipients of the Charter — The charter was granted to Winthrop, John Mason, Samuel Wyllys, Henry Clarke, Matthew Allyn, John Tapping, Nathan Gold, Richard Treat, Richard lord, Henry Wolcott, John Talcott, Daniel Clarke, John Ogden, Thomas Wells, Obadiah Bowed, John Clerke, Anthony Hawkins, John Deming, and Matthew Camfeild.
First Government — The charter established the “Company of the English colony of Connecticut in New-England, in America” and set up the first government, which included a Governor, Deputy Governor, and 12 Assistants.
- Governor — John Winthrop was named the first Governor of the Company.
- Deputy Governor — John Mason was appointed Deputy-Governor.
- Assistants — 12 men were named Assistants for the Company: Samuel Wyllys, Matthew Allyn, Nathan Gold, Henry Clerke, Richard Treat, John Ogden, John Tapping, John Talcott, Thomas Wells, Henry Wolcott, Richard Lord, and Daniel Clerke.
Type of Charter and Colony — Because the charter was granted to a company, it was a Corporate Charter, making Connecticut a Charter Colony. Under the charter, Connecticut was free to govern itself as long as the laws it established were based on English laws.
Nature in Colonial Connecticut
Geography — Connecticut Colony was located in New England. Its southern coast ran along Long Island Sound, although for some time, a portion of Long Island was part of Connecticut. Connecticut was bordered by Massachusetts (North), Rhode Island (East), and New Netherlands (West), which later became New York.
Terrain — The terrain of the Connecticut Colony was rough. Near the coast, the lowlands were covered with hills. Moving inland, there were mountains. Thick forests covered both the hills and mountains. The rocky soil made it difficult for farmers to cultivate fields and raise certain crops.
Climate — The New England Region of Colonial America was the coldest of the three regions. Winters were cold and harsh, but the cold weather kept some diseases from spreading as much as they did in other colonies. The winters were broken up by long, hot summers.
Natural Resources — Access to rivers and the coast made fishing and whaling popular. Thick forests provided wood for lumber and charcoal. Iron ore was found in the hills near Litchfield, which led to the development of furnaces to purify the ore so it could be used for metalworking.
Society in Colonial Connecticut
Religion — The first English people to settle in Connecticut were Congregationalist Puritans. At first, religious freedom was not allowed in Connecticut, but that changed in the 18th Century.
Industry — Although farming was difficult, the settlers could grow corn, pumpkins, rye, squash, and beans. Corn and rye were used to distill rum.
Economy — The colony’s economy was dependent on the Triangular Trade. Merchants in Connecticut purchased rum, crops, and livestock, which were then shipped to the Caribbean and Southern Colonies.
Slavery — Wealthy merchants in Connecticut were involved with the slave trade as part of their role in the Triangular Trade. There were an estimated 5,000 enslaved African Americans in the colony in 1774. After the American Revolutionary War, Connecticut gradually eliminated slavery but did not abolish it until 1848, thirteen years before the American Civil War started.
Important People in Colonial Connecticut
Ethan Allen — Allen was originally from Litchfield, Connecticut, and played a key role in helping the New Hampshire Grants become the state of Vermont. Allen is famous for leading an expedition to capture Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775, which is considered the first American victory of the American Revolutionary War.
Benedict Arnold — Arnold was from New Haven, Connecticut. He rose to fame in the early days of the American Revolutionary War and became a General in the Continental Army. He played a key role in the Invasion of Canada, the Battle of Quebec, and the Saratoga Campaign. However, he betrayed his country when he conspired to surrender West Point to the British. In 1781, he led a British attack on New London, Connecticut.
Nathan Hale — Hale was an officer in the Continental Army and rose to prominence during the early days of the American Revolutionary War. He accepted an assignment from George Washington to spy on the British and was captured by Robert Rogers. He was sentenced to death and hanged on September 22, 1776. Over time, Hale has become a legendary symbol of the spirit and determination of the American Revolution and is remembered for the famous quote, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
John Haynes — Haynes was the first Governor of the River Colony. He was elected under the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.
Seth Warner — Warner was from Roxbury, Connecticut, and was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He led the legendary Green Mountain Boys in several key battles in the early years of the war, including the Battle of Hubbardton and the Battle of Bennington. Before the war, Ethan Allen and Warner led the Green Mountain Boys. They fought against New York authorities to help settlers in the New Hampshire Grants — present-day Vermont — to keep their settlements.
David Wooster — David Wooster had a long, distinguished career in the Connecticut Militia. He commanded the colony’s first warship and later served in King George’s War, the French and Indian War, and the American Revolutionary War. He was commissioned as a Brigadier General in the Continental Army by Congress and participated in the Invasion of Canada and the Siege of Quebec. He died in 1777 from wounds he received in the Battle of Ridgefield.
Appendix
Thomas Hooker — the Father of Connecticut
Thomas Hooker is known as the “Father of Connecticut,” even though he did not establish the first settlement in the colony. Hooker was born in England and traveled to Massachusetts in 1633 during the Puritan Migration.
He settled outside Boston and became a church minister in Newtown, present-day Cambridge. The members of Hooker’s congregation disagreed with the teachings of John Cotton, who was the minister in Boston, so they decided to move into the Connecticut River Valley.
Hooker and his followers were permitted to leave Massachusetts Bay, and in June 1636, they started their journey to their new home. They traveled west along an old Indian trail called the Bay Path and turned south to reach present-day Hartford. Hooker became a prominent leader of the River Towns.
In 1638, he gave a sermon that inspired the River Towns to develop the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the first written constitution in America. The Orders served as the basis for the government of Connecticut until 1662, when the colony received its charter from King Charles II.
Some consider Hooker’s initial journey westward from Boston to be the start of America’s Westward Expansion (Manifest Destiny).
Witchcraft in Connecticut and the Hartford Witch Panic of 1662
Like many areas in New England, Connecticut had its episode of witchcraft hysteria, although it was not quite like the Salem Witchcraft Trials in the 1690s. A total of nine men and women were executed for witchcraft in Connecticut during the Colonial Era.
In 1642, the Connecticut General Court established a set of “Capital Laws,” and the second law stated, “If any man or woman be a witch (that is) hath or consulteth with a familiar spirit, they shall be put to death.”
Five years later, in 1647, Alse Young of Windsor became the first person in the colonies to be executed for witchcraft. The Connecticut Witch Trials took place between 1647 and 1697. However, there is no record of accused witches being executed after 1663.
Accusations peaked in 1662 with the Hartford Witch Panic. In this incident, 12 people were accused of witchcraft, and four were put to death. The proceedings led Governor John Winthrop Jr. to question the validity of the accusations. Because of this, he changed the rules of witchcraft trials and made it more difficult for someone to be convicted.
