VERMONT 100. The New Hampshire Grants. Governor Wentworth, one of the governors of New Hampshire, claimed that all of the land which is now called Vermont belonged to New Hampshire, and he gave away townships, or tracts of land, west of the Connecticut River, which were settled by people from the other colonies and from Scotland and Ireland. This region had already been explored by Champlain, and it was claimed by New York as a part of its territory. Settlements were made so slowly that it did not become a separate colony before the Revolution. It was known as the "New Hampshire Grants," because of the land Governor Wentworth had granted. MAINE 1639 101. Gorges Grant. After Captain Mason obtained possession of New Hampshire, Gorges also received another grant, which gave him the land from the Piscataqua to the Kennebec. This part of the country had been called the mayne (main) land, to distinguish it from the islands along the coast. From this circumstance the name of Maine was given to this region. Massachusetts laid claim to this territory, and a long dispute followed. The question was settled when Massachusetts paid twelve hundred pounds for her right to it. At first, there were only a few fishing stations. Settlers moved in so slowly that, like Vermont, it did not become independent of Massachusetts until a number of years after the Revolution. ON THE WARPATH 102. The Pequots. Sassacus, a chief of the Pequot Indians, saw that the Englishmen were taking possession of the land that had belonged to his fathers. Indignant at this, he planned to destroy all the white settlements in New England, and tried to persuade other tribes to join him in his plot. Through the influence of Roger Williams, the Narragansetts and Mohawks refused to assist him. Two English captains of trading vessels on the Connecticut were killed by Pequot Indians; and two years afterwards an English vessel was captured by a party of the same tribe, and its commander cruelly killed. The colonists of Massachusetts and Connecticut became so enraged by this that they resolved to declare war against the Pequots. Roger Williams persuaded the Narragansetts and Mohicans (or Mohegans) to join their forces with those of the colonists, again showing a beautiful spirit of forgiveness in protecting the people of Massachusetts, who had exiled him from among them. 103. Destruction of the Pequots. During the winter of 1637, four companies were raised in Massachusetts to march against the Pequots. Captain John Mason of Connecticut commanded the companies from that colony. They were led by 1637 a friendly Indian to the principal fort of the Pequots on the Mystic River. Lines of wigwams, protected by the fort, were filled with Indian families. Captain Mason directed the attack on the fort. The fighting was desperate. About seven hundred Indians were killed. Many perished in the flames when their wigwams were burned, and about two hundred women and children were captured. The fort was left in ruins, and the strength of the Pequots was completely broken. The white men lost but few of their number; some accounts of the battle tell us that on their return there were only two men missing. Sassacus escaped, but was afterwards killed by some of the Indians. The soldiers from Connecticut and Massachusetts, and the Indians who had joined them, claimed the captives for slaves. A large number of these prisoners were sold into slavery in the West Indies. 1643 104. Confederation. After the war with the Pequots, the colonists of New England concluded that it would be well to form a union of all the colonies, the better to protect themselves against the savages, and against the Dutch and the French who also threatened trouble. Each colony was to retain the control of its own affairs; two commissioners were to be chosen from each of the four colonies in the confederation, who were to manage all its business. None but church members could be elected commissioners, and the colonies were not to be bound by any act of the general council of commissioners, until it had been agreed to by all represented. Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven formed this union in 1643, and gave it the name of "The United Colonies of New England." Rhode Island was not received because of its freedom in matters of religion. 105. Trouble with England. While the Virginians were showing their devotion to the king, the Puritans 1660 were opposing him, and when Charles II was re stored to the throne, three of the judges who had condemned his father-Whalley, Goffe, and Dixwell - fled to New England for safety. The English government sent an order for their arrest, but they were allowed to escape to Connecticut. The people of Massachusetts began to fear that the new king might punish them for their opposition to him, and they sent agents to England with the request that he would confirm their charter. He agreed to do so, but insisted that they should tolerate the Church of England, and allow those who were not church members to vote. Royal commissioners soon arrived in the United Colonies and Rhode Island. They disputed with Massachusetts about her claim to New Hampshire, but returned to England without settling the question. Other troubles at home occupied the attention of the king, and New England was neglected. 106. Growing Hostility of the Indians. Great efforts were made to convert the savages to Christianity. Schools were established for them; the Bible had been translated into their tongue by John Eliot, the most enthusiastic and successful Indian missionary in New England, and it is said that quite a large number of the natives professed the Christian religion. This encroachment upon the religion of their fathers, and the appropriation of their old hunting grounds by the colonists, although the English made it a rule to pay the Indians for the land, finally aroused the animosity of many of the natives. 107. King Philip's War. During the early years, the settlers had been protected by the friendship of Massasoit. After his death, his son, Philip, who looked with no friendly eye upon the growth of the colonies, became the chief of his tribe. The trial and execution of his brother and several members of his tribe, for murder, fanned his smouldering enmity into KING PHILIP burning hatred. Soon after the royal visitors had returned to England, Philip visited all the tribes from Maine to Connecticut, and persuaded them to join him in a league to drive out the English. 1675 The first attack was made at Swanzey, in the Plymouth Colony. Troops from Boston compelled the Indians to leave that neighborhood, but their line of retreat was marked by burning houses, and often by scalps and heads of the dead attached to poles along the way. Every settlement upon the western border was kept in a state of constant terror, and many of them were destroyed. A strong force was raised by the colonists to march into the country of the Narragansetts and break King Philip's league of destruction. Many of the red men and their families were killed, and their largest town was burned. Philip's death ended the war. His young son, one of the captives, was sent to Bermuda and sold as a slave. Many lives were lost and much property destroyed during this war, and a heavy debt had been incurred by the colonists, but the strength of three powerful tribes was broken. 1686 108. Sir Edmund Andros. -The action of the people of New England had increased the anger of the king toward them, and he determined to punish them by depriving them of their chartered rights. Great excitement spread through New England when the news came. Sir Edmund Andros was sent over with a council, which the king had appointed to take control of the colonies of New England. He bore the title of "captain general," and had power to make laws and levy taxes as he chose. His treatment of the people in Massachusetts was tyrannical. He would not allow public meetings, and forbade any person to leave the country without permission from him. 109. The Charter Oak. He took possession of the Rhode Island charter, and when he reached Hartford he ordered the legislature to deliver to him the charter 1687 of Connecticut, a charter highly prized because of the liberties |