Our look at the Dominion of New England expands beyond Massachusetts as we take a tour of the other colonies that made up the Dominion. Then we head back to England where James II begins to see his grip on power slip.
More than anything in New England, religion reigned supreme. However, with the fall of the New England colonies and the formation of the Dominion of New England religious changes would be ushered in. For a colony that has such foundational ties with Puritanism, these changes are going to widely despised and resisted by the colonists.
With the old charter gone a new day had begun in New England. This week we explore the changes made in the new Dominion of New England. These changes were absolutely despised by the colonists who, in short order, came to equally loathe the new governor of the Dominion of New England, Edmund Andros.
After years of tension, the end would finally come for the Massachusetts Bay Company. With the King desperate to reassert royal prerogative he would push forward to cancel to Bay Company charter and usher in a new era of government in New England.
As Massachusetts continues to defy the crown, a situation developed in London that is once again going to turn the attention away from Massachusetts and place the focus on a religious question in England itself. This crisis will, in time, lead to serious repercussions back in New England.
London is finally forced to take a long hard look at their recalcitrant colonies in New England in the aftermath of King Philip’s war. A commission is sent over to get a sense of the overall problem, while the King begins to explore ways to bring Massachusetts and the rest of the region back into line with royal prerogative.
A look at the first decade of Pennsylvania history. The colony struggles under the new Frame of Government, while William Penn fends off border disputes with the other colonies.
William Penn, having founded the Pennsylvania colony, now needed to get a government in place for it. What would emerge was the Pennsylvania Frame of Government, one of the most liberal governments put into place in colonial America.
William Penn enters our story as we explore his life and the founding of Pennsylvania.
This week we look at the ultimate legacy of King Philip's war. What had the entire thing meant? What were the short and long term gains? What about the losses? Finally, how does this conflict fit into the greater story of the colonies in the 17th century, and explain the events to come?
