Connecticut Colony

Connecticut Colony

The first Europeans who settled in Connecticut were Dutch. The first English settlers arrived in Connecticut in 1636. Clergyman Thomas Hooker led 100 settlers with 130 head of cattle in a trek from Newtown (now Cambridge) in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and started their settlement just north of the Dutch fort. In 1637 the three Connecticut River towns (Hartford, Weathersfield, and Windsor) set up a collective government in order to fight the Pequot War. In 1638 the towns drew up their Fundamental Orders, setting out the principles, powers, and structure of the government (these were adopted by the Connecticut council on January 14, 1639). The Connecticut Colony received a Royal Charter in 1662 and became an official crown colony.

The New Haven Colony was a separate entity; it later merged into the Connecticut Colony.

See also: History of Connecticut