New Hampshire: Proprietary Colony, Not Royal

Colonial Charter History

New Hampshire was never a royal colony. It began as a proprietary grant and transitioned through several governance forms before statehood.

Timeline

• 1622: Council for New England grants John Mason "Mariana" (between Merrimack & Piscataqua).
• 1629: Mason & Sir Ferdinando Gorges split; Mason gets New Hampshire (named for his English county).
• 1641–1679: Massachusetts Bay absorbs NH (voluntary union for protection).
• 1679: Royal charter separates NH—becomes royal province with president & council appointed by Crown. This is the only "royal" phase.
• 1686–89: Dominion of New England (Andros).
• 1691: New provincial charter—royal governor, elected assembly.
• 1741: Separate governor (Benning Wentworth) ends MA shared governorship.
• 1776: First state constitution; royal authority ends.

Key Distinction

Proprietary colony = private owner (Mason/heirs) holds title & governing rights. Royal colony = Crown directly appoints governor & council. NH was proprietary (1629–41, 1679 briefly), then royal province (1679–1776), but origin and identity are proprietary.

Masonian Proprietors

Mason’s heirs (the Masonian Proprietors) sold township grants into the 1760s—shaping NH’s town-meeting landscape.