How did New England colonies get started?

The New England colonies were founded primarily by English Puritans, who were seeking to escape religious persecution in England. They also wanted to establish a new society based on their religious and political beliefs.

The first permanent English settlement in New England was Plymouth Colony, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, a group of English Separatists who had broken away from the Church of England. The Pilgrims initially struggled to survive in the New World, but they eventually established a successful colony with the help of the Wampanoag Native Americans.

In the years that followed, other English Puritans established colonies in New England, including the Massachusetts Bay Colony (founded in 1630), the Connecticut Colony (founded in 1635), the New Haven Colony (founded in 1638), and the Rhode Island Colony (founded in 1636).

These colonies were all based on the principles of Puritanism, which emphasized hard work, thrift, and religious devotion. The Puritans also established a system of representative government in which all male church members had the right to vote.

The New England colonies played an important role in the development of the United States. They were a source of religious freedom and political innovation, and they helped to shape the nation's character and values.