Connecticut was officially founded in 1636 when a group of Puritans, led by Thomas Hooker, left Massachusetts and established a settlement at present-day Hartford. The three River Towns — Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor formed a unified government under the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the first written constitution in America. Connecticut purchased Saybrook Colony in 1642 and New Haven Colony merged into Connecticut in 1665.
Essential Facts
- Year Founded — 1636
- Founded By — Thomas Hooker
- General Assembly Established — 1637
- Region — New England Colonies
Primary Documents
Biographies
- Ethan Allen
- Benedict Arnold
- Abraham Baldwin
- Eliphalet Dyer
- Nathan Hale
- Samuel Huntington
- Thomas Hooker
- William Samuel Johnson
- Israel Putnam
- David Rowland
- Roger Sherman
- William Williams
- Oliver Wolcott Sr.
- David Wooster
History
Colonial America
- Pequot War (1634–1638)
- New England Confederation (1643–1686)
- King Philip’s War (1675–1678)
- Dominion of New England (1686–1689)
- King William’s War (1688–1697)
- Queen Anne’s War (1702–1713)
- Albany Congress (1754)
- French and Indian War (1754–1763)
Key Concepts
- Agriculture in Colonial America
- Board of Trade
- Mercantilism
- Navigation Acts
- Salutary Neglect
- Transatlantic Slave Trade
- Triangular Trade
- Taxation Without Representation — Overview and History
American Revolution
- Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763)
- Proclamation of 1763
- Sugar Act (1764) — Guide
- Stamp Act (1765) — Guide
- Sons of Liberty
- Townshend Acts (1767—1768)
- Committees of Correspondence
- Tea Act (1773)
- Intolerable Acts (1774)
- Connecticut — Delegates to the First Continental Congress (1774)
- First Continental Congress (1774)
- Continental Association (1774)
American Revolutionary War
1775
- New England Army of Observation
- Second Continental Congress (1775—1781)
- Olive Branch Petition (July 8, 1775)
- Bombardment of Bristol (October 7, 1775)
