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The first attempt to colonize America was in 1587 by Sir Walter Raleigh on the island Roanoke. The colony of 91 men, 17 women, and 9 children vanished.
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The Puritans who landed in Plymouth in 1620 later were called the Pilgrims.
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New England Colonies had to deal with a colder climate than the Middle and Southern Colonies. This climate made it more difficult for certain diseases to thrive, unlike in the warmer, Southern colonies.
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Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by Puritans in 1629, and founded by John Winthrop in 1630.
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Connecticut Colony was founded in 1636 by Thomas Hooker.
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New Hampshire Colony was founded in 1638 by John Mason and John Wheelwright among others.
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Rhode Island Colony was founded by ex-Massachusetts Bay residents named Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson who were expelled for their liberal beliefs.
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Plymouth Colony was founded in 1621 by pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower in 1620. Plymouth was later de-established and absorbed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
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Farmland was not abundant in the New England Colonies and many settlers ran businesses as opposed to farming.
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In the New England Colonies trade, manufacturing, and fishing were common. Grain mills, sawmills, and shipbuilding were popular pursuits, and the harbors along the coast were excellent for promoting trade.
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Major industries in the New England Colonies included lumber, whaling, shipbuilding, fishing, livestock, textiles, and some agriculture.
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In New England it became a popular practice for shippers to sell rum off of Africa's coast in exchange for slaves, then to sell the slaves to the West Indies in exchange for molasses to make rum. This was called "triangular trade."
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The New England Colonies got their names for a variety of reasons. Massachusetts was named after a tribe, with the name meaning 'large hill place'. Connecticut was named for an Algonquin word meaning 'beside the long tidal river.' Rhode Island was named for a Dutch word meaning 'red island.' New Hampshire was named for a county in England.
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The New England Colonies would go on to become the setting for many of the American Revolution's major events including the Battle of Lexington, the Battle of Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Paul Reveres Ride.
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14 of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were from the New England Colonies.
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The oldest newspaper in the United States still being published began in Connecticut. It is The Hartford Courant' and it was established in 1764.
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