New England
In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower and established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. This marked the beginning of permanent European colonization in New England, following earlier explorations by French, Dutch, and English traders who had been exchanging metal, glass, and cloth for local beaver pelts since at least 1600 CE. Before these settlers arrived, humans had inhabited the region for at least 10,500 years, occupying a recently de-glaciated environment. Prominent tribes included the Abenakis, Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, Pequots, Mohegans, Narragansetts, Nipmucs, Pocumtucks, and Wampanoags. The Western Abenakis lived in what is now New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, with their principal town being Norridgewock in today's Maine. The Penobscots resided along the Penobscot River in Maine, while the Narragansetts and smaller tribes under their sovereignty occupied Rhode Island west of Narragansett Bay. The Wampanoags held southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The Pocumtucks lived in Western Massachusetts, and the Mohegan and Pequot tribes were located in Connecticut. The Connecticut River Valley linked numerous tribes culturally, linguistically, and politically.
On the 19th of May 1643, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut joined in a loose compact called the New England Confederation to coordinate mutual defense. This alliance gained importance during King Philip's War which pitted colonists against a widespread Indian uprising from June 1675 through April 1678. In the aftermath of settler-Native conflicts, hundreds of captive Indians were sold into slavery. Up until 1700, Native Americans comprised a majority of the non-white labor force in colonial New England. By 1686, King James II established the Dominion of New England, an administrative union including all of the New England colonies. In 1688, the former Dutch colonies of New York, East New Jersey, and West New Jersey were added to the dominion. After the Glorious Revolution in 1689, Bostonians overthrew the royal governor, Sir Edmund Andros. These tensions eventually culminated in the American Revolution, boiling over with the outbreak of the War of American Independence in 1775. The first battles were fought in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, leading to the Siege of Boston by continental troops. In March 1776, British forces were compelled to retreat from Boston. Residents of Rhode Island captured and burned a British Royal Navy ship enforcing unpopular trade restrictions, while residents of Boston threw British tea into the harbor. Britain responded with punitive laws stripping Massachusetts of self-government which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts.
In 1787, the first cotton mill in America was founded in the North Shore seaport of Beverly, Massachusetts as the Beverly Cotton Manufactory. Technological developments led to more advanced mills like Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Towns such as Lawrence, Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and Lewiston, Maine became centers of the textile industry following these innovations. Between 1830 and 1860, thousands of farm girls moved from rural areas to work in nearby mills like the Lowell Mill Girls. By 1850, the region accounted for well over a quarter of all manufacturing value in the country and over a third of its industrial workforce. The rapid growth caused a shortage of workers, so recruiters brought young women and children from the countryside. As the textile industry grew, immigration also increased. By the 1850s, immigrants began working in the mills, especially French Canadians and Irish. New England lost most of its factories starting with textiles in the 1930s and getting worse after 1960. For example, the Crompton Company went bankrupt in 1984 after 178 years in business, costing jobs for 2,450 workers across five states. What remains is very high technology manufacturing such as jet engines, nuclear submarines, pharmaceuticals, robotics, scientific instruments, and medical devices.
The states of New England have a combined area including water surfaces that makes the region slightly larger than Washington state and slightly smaller than Great Britain. Maine alone constitutes nearly one-half of the total area yet is only the 39th-largest state. The long rolling hills, mountains, and jagged coastline are glacial landforms resulting from ice sheet retreat approximately 18,000 years ago during the last glacial period. Mount Washington in New Hampshire is the highest peak in the Northeast and has the reputation of having the world's most severe weather. It is the site of the second highest recorded wind speed on Earth. The longest river is the Connecticut River which flows from northeastern New Hampshire emptying into Long Island Sound roughly bisecting the region. Lake Champlain forms part of the border between Vermont and New York and is the largest lake in the region. The climate varies greatly across its span from northern Maine to southern Connecticut. In regions like Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and western Massachusetts winters are long and cold with heavy snow common where most locations receive significant annual snowfall. Southern and coastal Connecticut serves as a broad transition zone from cold continental climates to milder subtropical climates.
In 2020, New England had a population of 15,116,205 representing growth of 4.6% from 2010. Massachusetts is the most populous state with 7,029,917 residents while Vermont is the least populous with 643,077 residents. Boston is by far the region's most populous city and metropolitan area. Three-quarters of the population live in southern New England, the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, where combined density reaches 786.83 inhabitants per square mile according to 2000 census data. People who claim Irish descent constitute the largest ethnic ancestry in New England. White Americans make up the majority at 73.4% of total population while Hispanic and Latino Americans form the largest minority group. As of 2014, Hispanics and Latinos made up 10.2% of New England's population. Over 660,000 Puerto Ricans lived in New England forming 4.5% of the population. Approximately 81.3% of all residents over age five spoke only English at home. Roughly 1,085,000 people spoke Spanish at home and roughly 970,000 spoke other Indo-European languages. Slightly fewer than one percent spoke French though this figure exceeds 20% in northern New England bordering francophone Quebec.
Harvard College was the first such institution founded in 1636 at Cambridge, Massachusetts to train preachers. Yale University was founded in Old Saybrook, Connecticut in 1701 and awarded the nation's first doctoral degree in 1861. Brown University was the first college in the nation to accept students of all religious affiliations and is the seventh oldest U.S. institution of higher learning. It was founded in Providence, Rhode Island in 1764. Dartmouth College was founded five years later in Hanover, New Hampshire with mission of educating local American Indian population as well as English youth. The University of Vermont was founded in 1791 same year that Vermont joined Union. Boston Latin School is the oldest public school in America attended by several signatories of Declaration of Independence. Hartford Public High School is second oldest operating high school in United States. As of 2005 National Education Association ranked Connecticut having highest-paid teachers in country. In 2010 four of six New England states were polled as most liberal in United States. As of 2021 five of six states have voted for every Democratic presidential nominee since 1992.
The first printing press in America was set up in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Stephen Daye in 17th century. Writers produced many works on religious subjects particularly Puritan theology and poetry during colonial times. Leading transcendentalists included Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederic Henry Hedge from New England. Hartford resident Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was influential book spreading abolitionist ideas said to have laid groundwork for Civil War. Other prominent novelists include John Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Louisa May Alcott, Sarah Orne Jewett, H.P. Lovecraft, Annie Proulx, Stephen King, Jack Kerouac, George V. Higgins, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Boston remained home of publishers Houghton Mifflin and Pearson Education and longtime home of literary magazine The Atlantic Monthly. Merriam-Webster is based in Springfield, Massachusetts. Prominent poets include Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Bishop, Stanley Kunitz, E.E. Cummings, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost who frequently wrote about rural New England life. A theater at 547 Washington Street in Boston was second location to debut picture projected by Vitascope shortly after dawn of motion picture era.
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Common questions
When did the Pilgrims arrive in New England and establish Plymouth Colony?
The Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 and established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. This event marked the beginning of permanent European colonization in New England following earlier explorations by French, Dutch, and English traders who had been exchanging metal, glass, and cloth for local beaver pelts since at least 1600 CE.
Which Native American tribes inhabited specific areas of New England before European settlement?
Prominent tribes included the Abenakis, Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, Pequots, Mohegans, Narragansetts, Nipmucs, Pocumtucks, and Wampanoags. The Western Abenakis lived in what is now New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, while the Penobscots resided along the Penobscot River in Maine, and the Narragansetts occupied Rhode Island west of Narragansett Bay.
What was the date of the formation of the New England Confederation and its purpose?
On the 19th of May 1643, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut joined in a loose compact called the New England Confederation to coordinate mutual defense. This alliance gained importance during King Philip's War which pitted colonists against a widespread Indian uprising from June 1675 through April 1678.
When did the first cotton mill open in America and where was it located?
In 1787, the first cotton mill in America was founded in the North Shore seaport of Beverly, Massachusetts as the Beverly Cotton Manufactory. Technological developments led to more advanced mills like Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, making towns such as Lawrence, Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and Lewiston, Maine centers of the textile industry.
How large is the combined area of New England states compared to other regions?
The states of New England have a combined area including water surfaces that makes the region slightly larger than Washington state and slightly smaller than Great Britain. Maine alone constitutes nearly one-half of the total area yet is only the 39th-largest state.
What were the population figures for New England in 2020 and which state had the most residents?
In 2020, New England had a population of 15,116,205 representing growth of 4.6% from 2010. Massachusetts is the most populous state with 7,029,917 residents while Vermont is the least populous with 643,077 residents.