England has 13 colonies in North America!

Chapter 5:The New England

ColoniesMassachusetts (MA)

Connecticut (CT)Rhode Island (RI)

New Hampshire (NH)

The Massachusetts Bay Colony

Lesson 1

A City on a Hill• 10 years after the Pilgrims a new group of

religious settlers called the Puritans founded a new colony.

• Puritans did NOT want to separate from the Church of England.

• They wanted to make the church more “pure.”• In 1628 a group of Puritans helped form a

company to settle in America.• King Charles I gave the company a charter.

• The Puritans’ 1st settlement was named Salem in present-day Massachusetts, led by John Endecott.

• In 1630 John Winthrop brought more Puritans from England to start the 2nd settlement.

• These new villages were near present-day Boston, Massachusetts.

• Winthrop helped them form a confederation so settlers would be able to defend themselves from enemies.

A Puritan Village• In the center of each

Puritan village was a common.

• At one end of the common was the church sometimes called a meetinghouse.

• Other buildings might be a general store, blacksmith shop, or school.

• Schools were important because Puritans wanted everyone to be able to read the Bible.

• Puritans began to develop community schools.

• Some of these schools still exist. (Harvard University!)

• Small villages helped people feel they belonged to a community AND the minister could keep his authority.

The Meetinghouse• The meetinghouse was at the center of village life

because it could be where church was held.• At church the minister gave a sermon that could last

for hours.• The meetinghouse is also where town meetings

were held.• Every year people were elected to public offices.• Offices that people held were: constable, digger of

graves, drummer, the town crier, and fence viewer.

Home and Farm Life• The main room in a Puritan home had a large

fireplace that was always kept burning.• Women spent many hours preparing food

each day and making clothing.• Many Puritan men spent days in the field

growing corn, wheat, pumpkins and squash.• English colonists living in the Caribbean

traded with New England colonists. New England traded their crops for sugar.

• The Puritans also raised cattle and hogs for food and sheep for wool.

• They made their own tools and shoes.

• Because of religious beliefs, children were not allowed to play with toys.

• Instead, children read religious books and games like tag and leapfrog.

Imagine you have been asked to write a newspaper article about the Puritans

of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Tell about the reasons why they settled there and the kinds of communities

they started.

You may use your book and for full credit you must include 4 true facts

about the Puritans.