Province of Massachusetts Bay

An English and later British colony in New England, established by royal charter in 1691. It ceased to exist when Massachusetts declared independence in 1776.

Massachusetts Bay Colony: An English colony in New England founded by Puritans in 1628 and governed under the Massachusetts Bay Company charter. The province absorbed this colony and its charter when the crown reorganized New England.
Royal governor: A colonial executive appointed by the crown to govern a British colony. The province’s governor was appointed by the monarch rather than elected by Massachusetts voters.
Salem witch trials: A series of witchcraft prosecutions in colonial Massachusetts in 1692 and 1693 that led to 19 executions. The trials unfolded during the province’s first years under its new charter.
American Revolution: The political and military struggle in which thirteen British colonies gained independence from Great Britain. The province became a major center of resistance and early revolutionary fighting.
Royal Colony: A colony governed under the authority of the monarch, usually through a governor appointed by the crown. The province was a royal colony, unlike colonies governed primarily by proprietors or chartered companies.
Plymouth Colony: An English colony established by separatists at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. The 1691 charter incorporated Plymouth into the province.
Massachusetts General Court: The legislature of Massachusetts, composed of a council and a House of Representatives. It legislated and controlled taxation, though royal officials could constrain its authority.
King Philip's War: A 1675–1676 war between Indigenous peoples led by Metacom and English colonies in New England. Its destruction and debts shaped the colonial conditions inherited by the province.
Intolerable Acts: A group of 1774 British laws punishing Massachusetts and altering its government after the Boston Tea Party. The laws directly curtailed the province’s autonomy and prompted intercolonial opposition.
Connecticut Colony: An English colony in New England governed under a charter that gave colonists substantial control over choosing officials. Its chartered self-government contrasted with the province’s crown-appointed governor.

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William StoughtonBroader topic: Stoughton governed this province after the witchcraft court’s dissolution.