Massachusetts

__Geography__
The colony of Massachusetts is located in New England and present day Maine was part of Massachusetts. Massachusetts has many different types of regions in the one colony. With hill country on the west, stony upland pastures in the middle, and a jagged indented coast on the east. Massachusetts is right on the Atlantic Ocean and since it has a jagged coast it has many harbors. The geography of Massachusetts helped to mandate the development of the colony becaus e of its jagged coast line Massachusetts became a center for trade with multiple harbors. Massachusetts wasn't the optimal place to farm because of the rocky soil. There are also swamps which made it difficult to farm.

__History__
The first colonization of Massachusetts was in 1620 when Puritans led by William Bradford came from England in the Mayflower and landed at Cape Cod Bay.Before boarding the Mayflower each person had to sign the Mayflower Compact which would later influence America. The Puritans came to America in search of religious freedom from the English. The Puritans came to America mainly for religious freedom, but they were also in search of a better way of life through the new economy they controlled. Native Americans had been living in Massachusetts for a long time before the Puritans came to America. The Native Americans taught the colonists good farming techniques and the Pilgrims negotiated peace with the Wampanoags who had lived there before them. In 1622 the Puritans, pilgrims, held a feast in honor of surviving a year in America.

Later in 1622 John Winthrop established the Massachusetts Bay Company in present day Boston. The colonists who came with Winthrop wanted to make money, and every year after the settlement of Boston 2,000 more people immigrated to Massachusetts in what is known as the Great Migration. The economy consisted of agriculture, trade, and fishing. Once the economy was strong people began becoming more intellectual and that is why the colonists established Harvard College in 1636.

In 1691 Massachusetts adopted a new charter which included religious tolerance, joined the Plymouth Colony to Massachusetts, and assigned govern-ship to a royal appointee. During this time a large number of merchants began making large sums of money. This interested the English because they could start making money off such a wealthy colony. The American Revolution began in Massachusetts at Concord and Lexington, and in 1780 Massachusetts declared itself a state.

__Economics__
The Massachusetts bay colony’s principal form of commerce was trading fish and furs with other colonies, merchants and traders. Farming and the trading of the fish and fur was how they kept their economy alive. Another important thing the colonists did to survive were their beliefs. Through the colonist’s beliefs they were able to unite as a colony. A main duty of the puritan families that lived in Massachusetts was to farm crops that merchants could sell to other colonies. They needed a good sum of money to support the colony and its many churches. Originally the colonists tried to use Native Americans as slaves but they would not obey and would die quickly. So the colonists traded the native Americans to the Caribbean Islands in exchange for African slaves. Massachusetts was the first mainland English colony to make slavery legal, but was also the first to abolish it.

__Social__
Being founded by Puritans the Massachusetts bay colony was dominated by the Puritan religion. There was no other religion involved in the colony because the Puritans would not allow it. For the Puritans the colony was more then just a place to live and farm it was their chance to make a pure society that served the will of god. Due to the great migration Massachusetts had a lot of languages. The majority of the colony spoke English but some colonists spoke Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Polish, German and French. The role of women in the Massachusetts bay colony was good. They took care of household needs but they also did spinning. This is a form of weaving that the women would use so that they could created goods out of wool. They also were in charge of the dairy production. The women would milk the cows and churn butter to serve their families. Women however couldn’t do certain jobs that only men were allowed to do.

__Political__
The Massachusetts bay company was given a royal charter by king Charles I. Originally the colony was a small group of puritans who had invested in the company. Eventually the puritans gained more control over the company and voted for it to be stationed at the colony rather than England. The Massachusetts colony had been established originally for trading, but in 1631 the colony established a commonwealth government. Soon they established a general court which annually picked a governor, an assistant governor and 18 representatives.

In 1634 the colonists made the decision to include more representatives to the court because of the growing population in the government affairs. Soon because of the size of the general court it was split into the house of representatives and the Governor’s council. The reason that the colony was able to continue with their own government was because of their charter but, in 1684 King Charles II took away the charter and made Massachusetts a royal colony under the crown’s direct rule.

__Terms __
 Triangle Trade: This was a trade route between the Colonies, England, and Africa. The colonies sent raw materials to England where these raw materials would be used to make finished goods. The British would then send the finished goods to Africa where slaves would be sold for these finished goods. Then the slaves would be sent to the colonies to be used on plantations.

 Salutary Neglect: This was a philosophy implicated by the British over the colonies. The main idea of this policy was to ignore the colonies and not enforce laws that restricted the trade because England was already making plenty of money off them.

Mercantilism: An economic policy implemented by the British in which the colonies would send raw materials to England. The raw materials are then turned into finished goods and sold back to the colonies as overpriced as possible.

Great Awakening: A religious revival in the American Colonies. There were many new churches, religious toleration, and it reinforced democracy.

Cash Crops: Staple crops of a colony which are mass produced and sold off. A staple crop would be tobacco because a lot was produced and sold.

__French and Indian War__
The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended 1763. Massachusetts was involved in the war through having colonists fighting along side the British troops. Also Massachusetts supplied British troops with provisions. Restrictions created by the British and taxes such as the Stamp Act and the Molasses Act were passed to help earn England money after paying for war. Massachusetts was considered the birth place of the revolution and there were most certainly more patriots than loyalists in the colony. The Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre occurred in Massachusetts. The first battle of the Revolution took place in Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts.

__American Revolution __
The Massachusetts Bay Colony supported the colonies separation from British rule. Many political, economical, social and military actions involved the colony such as, the Boston Massacre, the Boston tea party and the stamp act. Their were two major military actions that occurred in the Massachusetts bay colony. One of them was the Battle of Lexington which signaled the start of the American revolution and the other was the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the bloodiest battle during the revolution causing the British 1,054 casualties. This battle was the first win for the British over the Americans.

Another battle that occurred in Massachusetts was the Battle of Ticonderoga which was the turning point of the American revolution. Some major leaders of the American Revolutionary war that came from Massachusetts were Samuel Adams, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. The American Revolution caused a decline in the Massachusetts economy and heavy casualties were taken but, the Revolution freed Massachusetts of tax and united its people even more. The Massachusetts bay colony supported the constitution and even sent delegates to help draft it.

__Sources __
“Geography of Massachusetts” Massachusetts. Netstate, 2011. Web. 25 Sept 2011

Google Images
"Massachusetts." // American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. "Massachusetts Bay Company." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. Yahoo_. 21 Sept 2009. Yahoo Answers. 25 Sept 2011. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091001152358AAPxJK0 <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Answers.com_. 24 Jan 2009. Wiki Answers. 25 Sept 2011. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Did_slavery_exist_in_the_Massachusetts_colony <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">_EH.com_. 13 Nov 2001. Economic History Services. 25 Sept 2011 <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oliver Meder and Kyle Roffman