CONNECTICUT

FOUNDERS

• Connecticut was claimed by Dutch explorer Adrian Block in 1614 and by an Englishman from Massachusetts, John Oldham, in 1633. Thomas Hooker led his congregation to Connecticut in 1636.

REASONS FOR BEING FOUNDED

• Thomas Hooker had come to Massachusetts because he was not allowed to practice his Puritan faith in his native England. He was disturbed by the lack of democracy in Massachusetts and left the colony for Connecticut to find greater religious freedom.

PEOPLE IN THE COLONY

• Native Americans lived near the Ouinnequktuqut River when some white Europeans came to North America. Dutch and Swedish settlers also lived in Connecticut, as their governments also had claims on the area.

CLIMATE AND GEOGRAPHY

• The winters in Connecticut were much colder than English winters, and summers were mild. The terrain was hilly and covered with forests.

ECONOMY

• Colonists grew food for their families and a little more trade. Shipbuilding, fishing, and whaling along the coast were other ways to make a living.

RELIGION

• Since most colonists came to Connecticut from Puritan communities, they followed the Puritan religion. These colonists made sure to separate their religious codes from their colonial laws more completely than colonists in Massachusetts.

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

• Colonists had the worlds first written constitution, called the Fundamental Orders. It's called for a government "based on the consent of the governed," which was a radical idea for the time.