Province of New Hampshire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Province of New Hampshire
1629–1641 1679–1686 1689–1776
Flag Seal of the Province of New Hampshire, 1692
Anthem: God Save the King (1745-1783)
Map of the province
Status	Colony of England (1629–1641, 1679–1686, 1689–1707) Colony of Great Britain (1707–1776)
Capital	Portsmouth (de facto 1630-1774; de jure 1679-1775) Exeter (de facto 1774-1776)
Common languages	English (sole language of government) Abenaki Various other indigenous languages
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
• 1629–1641, 1679–1686, 1689–1707	(list)
• 1664–1685	Charles II
• 1707–1776	(list)
President
• 1679–1681	John Cutt
• 1681–1767	(list)
• 1767–1775	John Wentworth
Legislature	General Court of New Hampshire
• Upper house	Executive Council of the Province of New Hampshire
• Lower house	House of Representatives of the Province of New Hampshire
History
• Established	1629
• First royal charter issued, governance from 1680	1679
• Dominion of New England	1686–1689
• Second royal charter issued, governance from 1692	1691
• Disestablished	1776
Currency	New Hampshire pound (Often pegged to the Pound sterling); Spanish dollar; Pound sterling
Preceded by Succeeded by Province of Maine Massachusetts Bay Colony Dominion of New England Massachusetts Bay Colony Dominion of New England New Hampshire
Today part of	United States New Hampshire

Topographical map of the province

The Province of New Hampshire was a British colony in North America. It was first named in 1629. The name came from the county of Hampshire in southern England. Captain John Mason, the first owner, named it.

In 1776, the province became an independent state. It was called the State of New Hampshire. It then joined with twelve other colonies to form the United States.

Europeans first settled in New Hampshire in the 1620s. For many years, it had only a few towns along the coast. These towns were near the Piscataqua River and Great Bay. In 1641, the Massachusetts Bay Colony took control. But in 1679, King Charles II made New Hampshire a separate colony again. He appointed John Cutt as its first President.

New Hampshire was briefly part of the Dominion of New England in 1686. This was an attempt to unite all New England colonies. After the Dominion failed, New Hampshire became a separate crown colony again in 1691. Its new charter was official in 1692.

From 1699 to 1741, New Hampshire often shared its governor with the Province of Massachusetts Bay. This changed in 1741 when Benning Wentworth became the sole governor. Wentworth claimed lands west of the Connecticut River. He sold land grants there, which caused arguments with the Province of New York. These arguments eventually led to the creation of Vermont.

New Hampshire's economy relied on timber and fishing. The timber trade was profitable. However, the king wanted the best trees for ship masts. Even though Massachusetts Puritans ruled for a long time, New Hampshire had more religious freedom. Many early settlers were people who disagreed with the strict religious rules in Massachusetts.

From the 1680s to 1760, New Hampshire was often involved in wars. These were conflicts with New France and the Abenaki people. Major attacks happened during King William's War, Dummer's War, and King George's War.

At first, New Hampshire was not strongly in favor of independence. But after the fighting started, many people joined the American Revolution. Governor John Wentworth left New Hampshire in 1775. The people then created their own government in early 1776. New Hampshire's independence was confirmed in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris.

Native American Life Before European Settlers Arrived

Before the English came, the area of New England was home to the Abenaki people. They lived in large villages with longhouses. The Abenaki moved with the seasons. They would fish, gather plants, make maple syrup, and trade. They also hunted and later farmed tobacco and the "three sisters" (corn, beans, and squash). English and French explorers like Samuel de Champlain and John Smith explored the coast in the early 1600s.

First English Settlements in New Hampshire

English settlement began after land grants were given in 1622. These grants went to John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges. The land was between the Merrimack River and the Kennebec River. This area is now parts of New Hampshire and western Maine.

Settlers arrived on the New Hampshire coast as early as 1623. They expanded along the Piscataqua River and the Great Bay. These early settlers hoped to make money from fishing. Mason and Gorges divided their land claims in 1629. Mason took the land between the Piscataqua and Merrimack rivers. He named it "New Hampshire" after his home county in England.

Arguments over land boundaries led to a need for better management. In 1630, Captain Walter Neale became the chief agent for the lower settlements. These included Strawbery Banke (now Portsmouth). In 1631, Captain Thomas Wiggin governed the upper settlements. These were modern-day Dover, Durham, and Stratham.

After Mason died in 1635, colonists took over many of his properties. Exeter was founded in 1638 by John Wheelwright. He had been forced to leave Massachusetts. This was because he supported his sister-in-law, Anne Hutchinson. Wheelwright's group bought land from local Native Americans. Other settlers unhappy with strict Puritan rules moved to Dover. Puritans from Massachusetts settled what became Hampton.

New Hampshire Joins and Leaves Massachusetts

Because there was little government, the New Hampshire towns asked for help from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1641, they agreed to be governed by Massachusetts. They kept their local self-rule. Also, they did not have to be members of the Congregational church to vote. This was different from Massachusetts.

New Hampshire towns were part of Massachusetts until 1679. They sent representatives to the Massachusetts legislature in Boston. Meanwhile, Mason's family tried to get their land back in England. King Charles II was also watching Massachusetts closely. In 1679, Charles issued a new charter. This charter created the Province of New Hampshire, with John Cutt as its first president.

Early Royal Charters and Changes in Government

In January 1680, John Cutt became president, ending Massachusetts' rule. But Cutt and his successor, Richard Waldron, did not support the Mason family's land claims. So, King Charles issued a second charter in 1682. Edward Cranfield became governor. Cranfield strongly supported the Mason family. He made so many enemies that he was called back to England in 1685.

In 1686, New Hampshire became part of the Dominion of New England. This was an attempt to combine all the New England colonies under one government. New Hampshire towns did not suffer as much under Governor Sir Edmund Andros as Massachusetts did. When news of the Glorious Revolution in England reached Boston, Andros was arrested.

This left New Hampshire without a government. At the same time, King William's War began. New Hampshire towns faced attacks from the French and Native Americans. They asked Massachusetts Governor Simon Bradstreet for help. He governed them until William and Mary issued new, separate charters in 1691 for both Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The 1691 Charter and Land Disputes

Samuel Allen became the first governor under the 1691 charter. He was a businessman who had bought the Mason family's land claims. He also failed to get the Mason land claims recognized. In 1699, the Earl of Bellomont replaced him. Bellomont was the first of several governors who ruled both New Hampshire and the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

Until 1741, the same person was governor of both colonies. The governor spent most of his time in Massachusetts. This meant the lieutenant governors in New Hampshire had a lot of power. This shared governorship caused problems, especially over land claims. The original Mason grant's southern border was the Merrimack River. But the Massachusetts charter said its border was three miles north of the same river. This caused a conflict.

In 1741, King George II decided the border between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He also separated the governorships. Benning Wentworth was then appointed governor of New Hampshire.

Wentworth believed New Hampshire owned land west of the Connecticut River. He sold land grants in this area cheaply. But he required parts of the grants to be given to himself. This led to arguments with the Province of New York, which also claimed the land. In 1764, King George III ruled in New York's favor. This started a fight between the people who had bought New Hampshire Grants and New York authorities. This conflict eventually led to the creation of the state of Vermont.

This argument also led to Wentworth being replaced by his nephew, John. John would be the last royal governor of the province.

Since New Hampshire was on the northern border with New France, its towns were often attacked. This happened during King William's War, Queen Anne's War, and Dummer's War. These wars caused the Native American population in the north to decrease. Settlements slowly expanded into the province's interior. New Hampshire was divided into counties in 1769. This was later than the other twelve colonies that revolted against the British Empire.

New Hampshire and the American Revolution

Twelve other colonies joined New Hampshire in opposing new taxes from the British Parliament. The American Revolutionary War began in April 1775. New Hampshire quickly formed its own army units. These units fought in the Siege of Boston.

In January 1776, New Hampshire was the first former European colony to create its own independent government. It became the State of New Hampshire. Its independence as part of the United States was confirmed in 1783 by the Treaty of Paris.

Population Growth in Colonial New Hampshire

From 1630 to 1780, New Hampshire's population grew a lot. It went from 500 people to 87,802. The first permanent English towns were Dover and Rye in 1623. By 1773, Portsmouth was the largest city with 4,372 people.

The number of black people in the colony also grew. It went from 30 in 1640 to 674 in 1773. This was about 1 to 4 percent of the population. By 1780, it decreased to 541 people.

In New Hampshire, like other New England Colonies, the Puritan Congregational church was the main church. In 1650, only three places of worship in New Hampshire had regular services. All three were Congregational.

After the First Great Awakening (1730–1755), more churches appeared. By 1750, New Hampshire had 46 places of worship. Most were Congregational. By 1776, there were 125 places of worship. These included Congregational, Presbyterian, Baptist, Friends (Quakers), and Episcopal churches.

Many Puritans moved to New England between 1620 and 1640. This was after Charles I of England issued the charter for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. After the English Civil War ended in 1651, fewer people moved to New England. Most of the population growth came from families having more children.

Unlike the Southern Colonies, most Puritan immigrants to New England came as families. About two-thirds of the men were married. By the American Revolutionary War, only a small part of New England's workers were indentured servants or slaves. In 1783, the New Hampshire Constitution officially ended slavery. However, the 1790 U.S. Census still counted 158 slaves in the state. Slavery was fully ended by a law passed in 1857.

See also

In Spanish: Provincia de Nuevo Hampshire para niños