tions in England” to begin a sort of imperial expansion, annexing scattered
settlements all the way into New Hampshire and Maine. Rhode Island,
ostracized by Massachusetts, became a sanctuary for non-Puritans and the
freest, most tolerant of any of the colonies; not surprisingly, in 1642
Massachusetts considered invading it.
By 1643, feeling secure in virtual independence, Massachusetts set up
a confederation of the New England settlements including Plymouth,
Connecticut, and New Haven—“being all in Church-fellowship with us”—
known as the United Colonies of New England. The purposes they agreed
on were to protect one another against the Indians (who “have formerly
committed sundry insolence and outrages”) and to prevent indentured ser-
vants from escaping. Although each member retained its “peculiar jurisdic-
tion,” the confederation acted like a sovereign state rather than a colony
when it negotiated the Treaty of Hartford with New Netherland in 1650. It
was the first American experiment in federalism.
When the monarchy was restored, Massachusetts was unsure what to
do. Having enjoyed virtual independence during the adult lifetimes of most
of its citizens, and feeling no affinity with English monarchy, it was tempted
to sever the tie with Britain completely. On June 10, 1661, The General
Court opted for autonomy within the empire: Massachusetts was, the court
stated, “a body politicke, in fact & name [with] full power and authoritie,
both legislative & executive, for the gouvernment of all the people heere...
without appeal [to English courts] excepting lawe or lawes repugnant to the
lawes of England.” The proclamation was not immediately challenged,
because the restored monarch, Charles II, had his hands full asserting royal
authority in England. To curtail the powers of Massachusetts, he granted
charters to Connecticut and Rhode Island; but not until 1664, after receiving
a deluge of complaints, did he made a serious effort to come to grips with
Massachusetts’s challenge to royal authority.
What triggered Charles’s sudden assertion of authority was Britain’s
takeover in 1667 of New Netherland, which the Dutch had claimed since
- During the troubled period of the civil war and the restoration of the
monarchy, England fought three wars with the Dutch. These wars had two
significant results in American history. The first was that the British
acquired approximately 1,000 Dutch ships, the fluyts,thus creating an
“Mother England” Loses Touch 131