Chartered in 1629, Massachusetts is the second oldest English colony. What began with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower and resulted with the large Puritan society, Massachusetts was a colony with a rich history and many distinct features.
Geographic Features: (2) Massachusetts was a coastal New England colony. Due to being one of the northern colonies, Massachusetts had a colder climate than colonies in the other regions. The cold climate caused long harsh winters and shorter growing seasons. The colony was also very hilly and had very rocky soil, which was not good for farming. There were also plenty of rivers and lush, dense forests.
Economic Features: (1) The economy of Massachusetts was largely based on it's geographic features. The economic features of Massachusetts includes lumber, fishing, shipbuilding, and mostly subsistence farming. The dense and thick forests of the land created many lumber businesses. The lumber businesses provided the wood in making ships for the coastal colony. Additionally, the forests had many small mammals perfect for fur trading. The coastal colony's proximity to the ocean also provided much fish and allowed the colony to have access to coastal trading. Massachusetts' rocky soil and short growing seasons did not provide much agricultural profit. There were some dairy farms and wheat and corn farms. However, most of the colonists practiced subsistence farming, which is farming just enough food for a colonist's family.
Religious Features: (1) Most of the colonists in Massachusetts were Puritans, extreme Protestants who wanted to purify the Church of England of its Catholic influences. Puritans believed in Calvinism, which was created by John Calvin and based on Martin Luther's ideas. A major belief of the Puritans was the idea of predestination. Predestination is the belief that God already knows who goes to heaven and hell, and that doing good deeds will not change a person's predetermined fate. Also, the Puritans believed that conformity was very important and encouraged members of the church to keep an eye on each other to prevent nonconformity. As a result of their belief in conformity, the Puritans were not tolerant of other religions, and they killed, tortured, or banished members of their society who believed in other religions or ideas. The Puritans' beliefs influenced many of Massachusetts social and political features.
Social Features: (1) The Massachusetts colony had a religious and patriarchal society where conformity was important and men had more power than women. The men were the head of their households, and husbands were to support their wives and wives were to obey their husbands. Since most colonists in Massachusetts were Puritans, nonconformists were looked down upon and many of the colonists' actions were based on their religious laws. Additionally, families were very important. There were many extended families and most families had about 6 children. Every individual was expected to help in a household. Massachusetts also had a lower death rate than other early colonies and had a life expectancy of about 70 years old.
Political Features: (1) The government in Massachusetts was the General Court, which was established by the charter for the Massachusetts colony. The General Court consists of stockholders and non-stockholders. The stockholders of the colony made the laws and governed the affairs in Massachusetts. The non-stockholders, the colonists who lived in Massachusetts, could vote, hold office, and participate in the government, only if they were church-going men. The laws in Massachusetts were mostly based on the Puritan religion and encouraged conformity. Nonconformists were punished based on their actions. Additionally, the first governor of Massachusetts was John Winthrop, who governed for 19 years. He was a successful attorney and believed God called him to rule the Massachusetts colony.