Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Province of Massachusetts Bay British colony ←   ← 1692 – 1776 →   → A map of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Capital Boston Language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy King  - 1664-1685 Charles II  - 1769-1776 George III Royal Governor  - 1629-1630 John Endicott  - 1774-1775 Thomas Gage Legislature General Court History  - Charter Enacted 1692  - Independence July 4, 1776  - End of the Revolutionary War 1783 Currency Pound sterling, Spanish dollar

The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony organized October 7, 1691 in North America by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. The charter was enacted May 14, 1692 and included Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the Province of Maine and what is now Nova Scotia. (Nova Scotia was separated in 1696, and became the Province of Nova Scotia in 1713.) The Province of New Hampshire gained its independence from Massachusetts Bay at the time of the creation of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

The name Massachusetts comes from the Massachusett, an Algonquian tribe. The name has been translated as "at the great hill," "at the place of large hills," or "at the range of hills," with reference to the Blue Hills, or in particular, Great Blue Hill.

From 1691, the history of the Province of Massachusetts Bay is usually considered to be the same as that of Massachusetts. The 1691 "William and Mary Charter" was amended by King George I's "Explanatory Charter" which expanded on the original rights granted to the colony.

The Province of Massachusetts Bay existed until approximately October 7, 1774 when the General Court of Massachusetts established the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in response to the tightening control of the crown, and as a preceding act to the revolt of the American Revolutionary War.

The Constitution or Form of Government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was agreed upon in Cambridge in October 1779 and adopted by the delegates nine months later in June 1780 to go into effect "the last Wednesday of October next".

[edit] See also

• List of colonial governors of Massachusetts, for a complete list of Governors from colonial times.

[edit] External links

• Colonial Massachusetts Town Nomenclature

v • d • e The Thirteen Colonies of Colonial America Connecticut Colony · Delaware Colony · Province of Georgia · Province of Maryland · Province of Massachusetts Bay · Province of New Hampshire · Province of New York · Province of New Jersey · Province of North Carolina · Province of Pennsylvania · Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations · Province of South Carolina · Colony and Dominion of Virginia