What are the economic activities in Massachusetts Bay Colony?
What Was the Economy of Massachusetts Based on During the 1600s?
- Small Farms. Massachusetts' rocky soil and cold climate, with its long, harsh, winters made large-scale plantation farming -- as seen in the Virginia Colony -- impossible.
- Fishing and Small Industries. To make a profit, Massachusetts colonists had to develop a diverse economy. ...
- Maritime Trade. ...
- Conflict Over Economic Prosperity. ...
How did people make money in Massachusetts Bay Colony?
Saw mills were used to produce wooden planks for export to England, which were then manufactured into finished goods such as furniture. Wood was also a necessity for the shipbuilding industry, another money maker in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
What were the economic opportunities in Massachusetts colony?
Economic Opportunities. Massachusetts Colony obtains an English charter allowing us to trade and colonize in New England. It is economically viable partly because of fur trading. Our major industries include agriculture (fishing, corn, livestock) and manufacturing (lumbering, shipbuilding).
What was the economic system of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
Massachusetts Bay Colony - Economy and Trade. Economy and Trade. In the early years of the colony, it was highly dependent on the import of staples from England, and was supported by the investments of a number of wealthy immigrants. Certain businesses, notably shipbuilding, fisheries, and the fur and lumber trades, quickly got started.
Was Massachusetts Bay economic or religious?
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the Puritans, a religious minority group who migrated to the New World seeking to create a model religious community. The Puritans believed that the Anglican Church needed to be purified of the influences of Catholicism.
How did Massachusetts survive economically?
The ocean quickly revealed itself as the most profitable economic venture for colonists, not only because of fishing and shipbuilding, but also because of trade. Massachusetts' merchants built and bought ships that carried goods and natural resources across the Atlantic, employing dozens of colonists on every ship.
What did the Massachusetts Bay Colony do for money?
The Massachusetts Bay Colony primarily made money through shipbuilding, fishing, fur, and lumber production.
Was Massachusetts Bay founded for economic reasons?
Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in North America. It was an economic venture by the Virginia company. Plymouth Colony was settled by separatists from the Church of England who wanted to avoid religious persecution. Massachusetts Bay Colony was settled by the Puritans for religious reasons.
What are the major economic Businesses in Massachusetts Colony?
Facts about the Massachusetts Colony Major Industries: Agriculture (fishing, corn, livestock), Manufacturing (lumbering, shipbuilding). In towns along the coast, the colonists made their living fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding.
What was the economy based on?
Broadly speaking, an economy is an interrelated system of human labor, exchange, and consumption. An economy forms naturally from aggregated human action–a spontaneous order, much like language. Individuals trade with each other to improve their standards of living.
How did the colony make money?
COMMODITY MONEY OR "COUNTRY PAY" In the Southern colonies, it was tobacco and rice; and throughout most of the colonies, animal skins, corn, powder and gun shot, and livestock were often used.
Did Massachusetts have cash crops?
Massachusetts' most valuable crops include greenhouse and nursery commodities, making up over one third of the state's total agricultural production, followed by cranberries, sweet corn and apples. The most valuable livestock products of the Bay State are dairy products.
What did the Massachusetts colony trade?
Trade in the Colonies - Massachusetts Trade in the Massachusetts Colony used the natural resources and raw materials available to develop trade in fish, timber, furs, wool, leather, whale products, ships and livestock.
Which colony was the most successful?
Jamestown, founded in 1607, was the first successful permanent English settlement in what would become the United States.
What was life like in Massachusetts Bay Colony?
Massachusetts Bay Colony was a man's world. Women did not participate in town meetings and were excluded from decision making in the church. Puritan ministers furthered male supremacy in their writings and sermons. They preached that the soul had two parts, the immortal masculine half, and the mortal feminine half.
What kind of government did the Puritans in Massachusetts Bay create?
IN THE 1630S, ENGLISH PURITANS IN MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY CRE- ATED A SELF-GOVERNMENT THAT WENT FAR BEYOND WHAT EXISTED IN ENGLAND. SOME HISTORIANS ARGUE THAT IT WAS A RELIGIOUS GOVERNMENT, OR THEOCRACY. OTHERS CLAIM IT WAS A DEMOCRACY.
When was the Massachusetts Bay Colony founded, and how long did it last?
In 1629 King Charles I of England granted the Massachusetts Bay Company a charter to trade in and colonize the part of New England that lay approxi...
What was the purpose of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
The Puritans who settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony intended to set up a society that would accord with what they believed to be God’s wishes. On...
What is the importance of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
By moving the Massachusetts Bay Company’s General Court from England to America, the Puritans converted it from an instrument of the company to a l...
What did Puritans do in Massachusetts?
As more and more Puritans poured into the Massachusetts Bay Colony, they began to form towns and communities. Puritans farmed in the fields surrounding their towns and grew a variety of different crops. This variety of crops, as well as the pure drinking water and cool climate of New England, stopped the spread of diseases that were common in other colonies of the time.
How many people came to Massachusetts Bay?
The Massachusetts Bay Colony reached the same population level as the decade-old Virginia colonies within one year. Between 1629 and 1643, nearly 9,000 immigrants in more than 200 ships came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
What degree did Mary have?
Mary has a Master's Degree in History with 18 advanced hours in Government. She has taught college History and Government courses. Discover the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the colony founded by the Puritans in New England. Learn about daily life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and explore the government and religious beliefs of the colonists.
What was the purpose of the Halfway Covenant?
The Halfway Covenant of 1662 attempted to solve this problem by allowing any grandchildren of a full church member to become members regardless of the status of their parents. Despite the Halfway Covenant, over time, the Puritans lost their hold over the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
What policy ensured that, by the 1660s, a majority of New England men could read and write?
According to the charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company, any town of at least 15 people had to open an elementary school supported by local taxes. This policy ensured that, by the 1660s, a majority of New England men could read and write.
Did Puritans have to attend church?
Church attendance in Puritan towns was mandatory; however, in order to be considered a full church member, Puritans had to prove they had experienced a religious conversion and show that they were part of the predestined elect, a group that was assured entrance into heaven.
Who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
The Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the Puritans, a religious minority group who migrated to the New World seeking to create a model religious community. The Puritans believed that the Anglican Church needed to be purified of the influences of Catholicism.
What colony was the first to be founded by Puritans?
These separatists established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, the first English colony in New England which not only survived but flourished. The Plymouth Colony was not a cohesive group of Puritan separatists, however, as half their number were so-called Strangers (people not of their faith), who were Anglican. The separatists (later referred to as pilgrims) had learned how to live with their Anglican shipmates aboard the Mayflower and had joined with them in signing the Mayflower Compact which established the colony's government; Plymouth was therefore somewhat ecumenical in daily, if not religious, life. Massachusetts Bay Colony, on the other hand, had a completely different demographic when it was founded and was comprised of Puritans governed by Puritans; they were, therefore, less tolerant of Strangers – and certainly of dissenters - than Plymouth.
How did Winthrop and Plymouth colonists work together?
Winthrop worked alongside the other colonists to build the settlement while simultaneously organizing a system of government. Like Plymouth Colony, they established a representational form of government, a republic, in which magistrates were elected by popular vote. Although this government appeared democratic and stipulated a separation of church and state, it was closer to a theocracy because it was informed by Puritan values and only those who exemplified those values had a chance of being elected.
Why did the Puritans come to America?
The Puritans had come to North America to establish a colony where people could worship God freely; as long as the people believed and worshipped as they did. The first source of conflict and dissent they dealt with was a man who was not even part of the colony. In 1630 CE, shortly after arriving, Winthrop presided over the trial and banishment of the liberal Anglican lawyer Thomas Morton (l. c. 1579-1647 CE), leader of the nearby Merrymount Colony, whose views on religion and proper behavior differed sharply from those of the colony. Morton was exiled back to England where he then pursued legal action to strip Massachusetts Bay Colony of its charter.
What was the largest English settlement in New England?
Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628-1691 CE) was the largest English settlement in New England and the most influential both in the colonization of the region and later developments in what would become the United States of America. It was founded and developed by Puritans, religious reformers who sought to 'purify' the policies and practices of the Anglican Church of Catholic influences, which put them in conflict with the Church and the Crown. When persecutions of Puritans became more intense in 1629 CE, many chose to leave and settle in North America where the successful Plymouth Colony had established itself in 1620 CE.
Why did the Massachusetts Bay colony have a tighter cohesion than other colonies?
The Massachusetts Bay Colony had a tighter cohesion than others because of their common vision, & this led to greater productivity. The Massachusetts Bay Colony had a tighter cohesion than others because of their common vision, and this led to greater productivity .
Which colony lost the most population in 1607?
Fewer colonists of Massachusetts Bay died the first year than any other English colony founded prior to 1630 CE. The Jamestown Colony of Virginia lost over half their population between 1607-1608 CE and over 80% before 1610 CE.
Which colony believed in spreading the Christian message to Native Americans?
Although Plymouth Colony also believed in the importance of spreading the Christian message to the Native Americans, they were less zealous – at least initially – than Massachusetts Bay Colony and also, in their early years, pursued no expansionist policies.
How far was the Merrimack River from the colony?
The colonial charter specified that the boundaries were to be from three miles (4.8 km) north of the Merrimack River to three miles south of the southernmost point of the Charles River and thence westward to the "South Sea" (i.e., the Pacific Ocean ). At the time, the course of neither of the rivers was known for any significant length, which eventually led to boundary disputes with the colony's neighbors. The colony's claims were large, but the practicalities of the time meant that they never actually controlled any land further west than the Connecticut River valley. The colony also claimed additional lands by conquest and purchase, further extending the territory that it administered.
Why did the Pilgrims establish Plymouth?
In December 1620, a group of Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony just to the south of Massachusetts Bay, seeking to preserve their cultural identity and attain religious freedom. Plymouth's colonists faced great hardships and earned few profits for their investors, who sold their interests to them in 1627. Edward Winslow and William Bradford were two of the colony's leaders and were likely the authors of a work published in England in 1622 called Mourt's Relation. This book in some ways resembles a promotional tract intended to encourage further immigration. There were other short-lived colonial settlements in 1623 and 1624 at Weymouth, Massachusetts; Thomas Weston's Wessagusset Colony failed, as did an effort by Robert Gorges to establish an overarching colonial structure.
What tribes lived in Massachusetts?
The Pennacooks occupied the Merrimack River valley to the north, and the Nipmucs, Pocumtucs, and Mahicans occupied the western lands of Massachusetts, although some of those tribes were under tribute to the Mohawks, who were expanding aggressively from upstate New York. The total Indigenous population in 1620 has been estimated to be 7,000. This number was significantly larger as late as 1616; in later years, contemporaneous chroniclers interviewed Indigenous people who described a major pestilence which killed as many as two-thirds of the population. The land-use patterns of the Indigenous people included plots cleared for agricultural purposes and woodland territories for hunting game. Land divisions among the tribes were well understood.
Why did the delegates of Massachusetts Bay meet with the Lords of Trade?
Two delegates from Massachusetts Bay were sent to London to meet with the Lords of Trade when the crown threatened the colony with a quo warranto. The Lords demanded a supplementary charter to alleviate problems, but the delegates were under orders that they could not negotiate any change with the Charter and this enraged the Lords. The quo warranto was issued immediately. The King feared that this would stir problems within the colony and attempted to reassure the colonists that their private interests would not be infringed upon. The declaration did create problems, however, and the confrontations increased between the moderates and conservatives. The moderates controlled the office of Governor and the Council of Assistants, and the conservatives controlled the Assembly of Deputies. This political turmoil ended in compromise with the deputies voting to allow the delegates in London to negotiate and defend the colonial charter.
What countries did the Massachusetts Bay colony trade with?
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was economically successful, trading with England, Mexico and the West Indies. In addition to barter, transactions were done in English pounds, Spanish "pieces of eight", and wampum in the 1640s.
Why did the Crown want to include non-Puritans in the leadership of the colony?
The Crown learned of these divisions and sought to include non-Puritans in the leadership in the hope of managing the colony.
What is the name of the colony in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts. Maine. New Hampshire. The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally The Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The lands of the settlement were in ...
What was the name of the river that the Massachusetts Bay Company landed on?
In 1629 the Massachusetts Bay Company had obtained from King Charles I a charter empowering the company to trade and colonize in New England between the Charles and Merrimack rivers.
What colony was merged with Maine in 1691?
The charter of 1691 merged the Plymouth colony and Maine into the Massachusetts Bay Colony. See also Plymouth. This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt, Manager, Geography and History. History at your fingertips.
What was the importance of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
What is the importance of the Massachusetts Bay Colony? By moving the Massachusetts Bay Company’s General Court from England to America, the Puritans converted it from an instrument of the company to a legislative and administrative assembly free from royal oversight.
How many people were in Massachusetts Bay in the 1640s?
By the mid-1640s Massachusetts Bay Colony had grown to more than 20,000 inhabitants. Increasing estrangement between the colony and England resulted in the annulment of the company’s charter in 1684 and the substitution of royal government under a new charter granted in 1691.
What is an encyclopedia editor?
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. ...
Which colony was a part of the Massachusetts Bay?
A new charter was issued in 1691 that joined the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth Colony, and the Maine Colony as the Province of Massachusetts Bay and placed it under a royal governor. Charles I. Learn more about Charles I.
When was Massachusetts Bay colony established?
See Article History. Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of the original English settlements in present-day Massachusetts, settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees from England under Gov. John Winthrop and Deputy Gov. Thomas Dudley.
When did the Massachusetts Bay Company move to New England?
In August of 1629 , the company held a series of meetings in Cambridge where they voted to take advantage of this omission and move the entire company to New England, according to the book The Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony:
Why was the Massachusetts Bay Colony revoked?
In 1684, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was disheartened to hear its charter was revoked due to repeated violations of the charter’s terms. The list of violations included establishing religious laws, discriminating against Anglicans and Quakers and running an illegal mint.
What was the most successful colony in New England?
Massachusetts Bay Colony was a British settlement in Massachusetts in the 17th century. It was the most successful and profitable colony in New England. The following are some facts about the Massachusetts Bay Colony:
What colony was Boston in?
Boston, Massachusetts, settled by Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Roxbury, Massachusetts, settled by Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Dorchester, Massachusetts, settled by Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Hull, Massachusetts, settled by members of the Plymouth Colony in 1624, taken over by Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, ...
How many people died in the Indian colony in the winter?
The first news they had, was of a general conspiracy, a few months before, of all the indians as far as Narragansett, to extirpate the English. Eighty persons out of about three hundred had died in the colony the winter before, and many of those that remained were in a weak, sickly condition.
Which colony was founded by the Dorchester Company?
Salem, Massachusetts, settled by the Dorchester Company in 1626, taken over by Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628. Charlestown, Massachusetts, settled by Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628. Roxbury, Massachusetts, settled by Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.
Where did Winthrop and Cotton go?
Winthrop tried to persuade Cotton to come with them to the New World but Cotton declined and returned to his church, St. Botolph’s in Lincolnshire. The fleet of 11 ships, now known as the Winthrop fleet, set sail and finally reached the shores of Massachusetts on June 12 and landed at Salem.
Why was whaling important to Plymouth?
According to the book Cape Cod and Plymouth Colony in the 17th Century, whaling was a particularly vital part of the economy in Plymouth: “The whale processed on Cape Cod were Atlantic right whales, so called because they were the correct, or ‘right,’ whales for human use. They were a coastal, migratory whale, which floated when dead, ...
How much whale oil did Plymouth export?
Writing to England in January 1687/88, he estimated Plymouth had exported two hundred tons of whale oil in the previous months, and predicted that whale oil would replace the fur trade as a staple of the colony’s economy. Another comes from Wait-Still Winthrop.
How many whales were killed in one day?
In a letter to his brother he mentioned a report of twenty-nine whales having been killed in one day, and that on a previous visit to Plymouth he had learned of a group who had killed six whales within a few days.
What was the economy of the Plymouth colony?
The Economy of Plymouth Colony. The economy of Plymouth Colony was based on agriculture, fishing, whaling, timber and fur. The Plymouth Company investors initially invested about £1200 to £1600 in the colony before the Mayflower even sailed. The colonists had to pay this money back over seven years by harvesting supplies ...
What did the common stock do for the colonists?
The common stock helped supply the colonists with things like food, tools and clothing. At the end of the seven years, the shareholders would divide the profits and capital (which included houses, land and goods) equally. Plymouth on a map of New England, circa 1720. Yet, in 1623, the common-stock plan was abandoned and ...
Why was Plymouth divided?
Yet, in 1623, the common-stock plan was abandoned and the land and houses were divided so that each colonist could reap the rewards of their own labor. The colony had been barely producing enough food to survive and the Governor of the colony, William Bradford, felt that the communal aspect ...
Where did the colonists settle in 1625?
To help pay down the debt they still owed, the colonists established a beaver fur trading base in Kennebec, Maine by 1625. Beaver were plentiful in Maine where the local Native-Americans tribe had hunted them for generations.
What was the Massachusetts Bay colony?
The Massachusetts Bay Colony Government (more formally The Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 1628–1692) was an English settlement on the east coast of America in the 17th century around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. This government laid many of the cornerstones of ...
Did the colonists have contempt for the Indians?
But those injustices have led many Americans to believe that the colonists had nothing but contempt for the American Indian, and sought merely to expel him or “steal” his land.
Did Eliot learn the language of the Algonquins?
So Eliot learned the spoken language of the Massachusetts Algonquins, developed a written version of their language for them, and then translated the Bible into that language. If Eliot and the Puritans had simply wanted to oppress the natives, they could have come up with an easier way.
Who was the greatest Puritan missionary?
Today the Puritans’ desire to win the natives to Christianity is often met with impatience and smirks. But consider the greatest of the Puritan missionaries, John Eliot, who lived from 1604 to 1690. What Eliot did in order to spread the Christian faith among the Indians almost defies belief.
Puritans & Separatists
Plymouth & Massachusetts Bay Colonies
- These separatists established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, the first English colony in New England which not only survived but flourished. The Plymouth Colony was not a cohesive group of Puritan separatists, however, as half their number were so-called Strangers (people not of their faith), who were Anglican. The separatists (later referred to as pilgrims) had learned how to live …
Development & Vision
- Winthrop worked alongside the other colonists to build the settlement while simultaneously organizing a system of government. Like Plymouth Colony, they established a representational form of government, a republic, in which magistrates were elected by popular vote. Although this government appeared democratic and stipulated a separation of church and state, it was closer …
Dissent & Banishment
- The Puritans had come to North America to establish a colony where people could worship God freely; as long as the people believed and worshipped as they did. The first source of conflict and dissent they dealt with was a man who was not even part of the colony. In 1630 CE, shortly after arriving, Winthrop presided over the trial and banishment of the liberal Anglican lawyer Thomas …
Conclusion
- Although these dissenters disagreed with how the Puritans were practicing their faith, they were still intensely religious, anti-Catholic, Protestant Christians who believed in the Great Commission (spreading the Christian message through evangelization), and the colonies they established reflected this belief. Every colony in New England, to greater or lesser extents, engaged in missio…
Overview
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally The Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The lands of the settlement were in southern New England, with initial settlements on two natural harbors …
Economy and trade
In the early years, the colony was highly dependent on the import of staples from England and was supported by the investments of a number of wealthy immigrants. Certain businesses were quick to thrive, notably shipbuilding, fisheries, and the fur and lumber trades. As early as 1632, ships built in the colony began trading with other colonies, England, and foreign ports in Europe. By 1660, the colony's merchant fleet was estimated at 200 ships and, by the end of the century, its …
History
Before the arrival of European colonists on the eastern shore of New England, the area around Massachusetts Bay was the territory of several Algonquian-speaking peoples, including the Massachusetts, Nausets, and Wampanoags. The Pennacooks occupied the Merrimack River valley to the north, and the Nipmucs, Pocumtucs, and Mahicans occupied the western lands of Massachusetts, altho…
Life
Life could be quite difficult in the early years of the colony. Many colonists lived in fairly crude structures, including dugouts, wigwams, and dirt-floor huts made using wattle and daub construction. Construction improved in later years, and houses began to be sheathed in clapboard, with thatch or plank roofs and wooden chimneys. Wealthier individuals would extend their house by adding a …
Government
The structure of the colonial government changed over the lifetime of the charter. The Puritans established a theocratic government limited to church members. Winthrop, Dudley, the Rev. John Cotton, and other leaders sought to prevent dissenting religious views, and many were banished because of differing religious beliefs, including Roger Williams of Salem and Anne Hutchin…
Demographics
Most of the people who arrived during the first 12 years emigrated from two regions of England. Many of the colonists came from the county of Lincolnshire and East Anglia, northeast of London, and a large group also came from Devon, Somerset, and Dorset in the southwest of England. These areas provided the bulk of the migration, although colonists also came from other regions of England. The pattern of migration often centered around specific Nonconformist clergy who sou…
Geography
The Massachusetts colony was dominated by its rivers and coastline. Major rivers included the Charles and Merrimack, as well as a portion of the Connecticut River, which has been used to transport furs and timbers to Long Island Sound. Cape Ann juts into the Gulf of Maine, providing harbors for fishermen plying the fishing banks to the east, and Boston's harbor provided secure anchorage for seagoing commercial vessels. Development in Maine was restricted to coastal ar…
See also
• History of Massachusetts
• History of the Puritans in North America
• List of colonial governors of Massachusetts
• List of members of the colonial Massachusetts House of Representatives