History of Massachusetts
(Part 1 of 2)
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sunil_Tanna]Sunil
Tanna
Before the arrival of Europeans, the
area that is today the state of
Massachusetts was inhabited by various
Algonquian-speaking Native American
peoples including the Massachusett, the
Pennacook, the Wampanoag, the Nauset,
the Nipmuc, the Pocomtuc, the Mahican,
the Narragansett and Mohegan. Sadly
however, all these peoples were soon
decimated by smallpox when Europeans
first arrived in North America.
In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived from
England on the Mayflower, establishing a
colony at Plymouth. Like the Native
Americans, the Pilgrims suffered from
smallpox. They were however helped by
the Wampanoags, and celebrated their
first Thanksgiving with the Native
Americans in 1621. The English settlers
were known to the Native Americans, as
Yengeeze (their pronunciation of
"English"). This is the origin of the
word "Yankee".
In the following decades, the
Pilgrims were followed by Puritans, who
established a colony at Boston, as well
as Anglicans and Quakers. However there
were religious tensions, with Quakerism
banned, and four Quakers hanged on
Boston Colony. The English colonies of
Connecticut and Rhode Island were
founded at this time by dissenters
fleeing the lack of religious tolerance
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
In the reign of King James II of
England, who was an outspoken Catholic,
the Massachusetts Bay Colony's charter
was annulled. A short-lived Dominion of
New England was formed, but the Royal
Governor was overthrown by the
colonials. After James' overthrow, the
Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay
Colony (Boston) were merged, and a new
royal charter was granted in 1692.
1692 was also signalled the Salem
witch trials. The trials lasted until
May 1693, and resulted in the deaths of
20 people (14 women and 6 men), and the
imprisonment of more than 150.