Technology, Tufts University, and Harvard
University. The state’s many
schools employ a large number of people
as teachers and administrators. Tourism
businesses such as hotels and restaurants
also employ many people in Massachusetts.
Popular tourist areas include Boston,
the Cape Cod region, and the
Berkshires.
The state’s manufacturing businesses
make industrial machinery, electronic
equipment, medical supplies, and computer
parts. Because of the state’s poor
soil conditions, farming has never been
central to the economy.
History
Native Americans had been living in the
Massachusetts area for thousands of
years before Europeans arrived. In 1620
the first European settlers landed at Plymouth
on a ship named the Mayflower.
These settlers, called Pilgrims, were
people who had broken away from the
Church of England to form a separate
church. They established Plymouth
Colony. Another group called the Puritans
later established the larger Massachusetts
Bay Colony to the north. In
1691 the Plymouth Colony became part
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
During the 1700s Massachusetts became
known as a trading center. As wealth
A brook winds through a wooded area of Moore State Park in Massachusetts.
72 Massachusetts BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
increased, so did the desire for selfgovernment.
Colonists resented all of
the taxes Britain made them pay. A series
of events led Britain and the colonists to
war. In 1770 British soldiers and an
angry mob clashed in an event known as
the Boston Massacre. In 1773 some
colonists dumped British tea into Boston
Harbor to protest the tea tax. This
act was known as the Boston Tea Party.
In April 1775 the “shot heard round the
world” was fired at Concord to start the
American Revolution. Massachusetts
was the site of many conflicts in this
war, including the battle of Bunker Hill.
Britain was defeated and the colonies
became independent in 1783. In 1788
Massachusetts became the sixth state to
approve the U.S. Constitution.
The state’s economy declined after the
American Revolution. It continued to
struggle until after theWar of 1812,
when textile mills and factories were
opened in Lowell. The opening of new
factories brought jobs to thousands of
workers. As a result of this new type of
business activity, Massachusetts became
the North American center of the Industrial
Revolution. The state also became a
center for literature, the arts, sciences,
and social-reform movements.
Massachusetts was strongly against slavery.
As a result, it fought on the side of
the Union during the American Civil
War (1861–65).
In the 1900s the state’s economy went
through a number of changes. The textile
and shoe industries left the state,
causing years of economic decline. The
economy improved when the electronics
and communications industries emerged
afterWorldWar II. In the late 20th century
Massachusetts became a leader of
the high-technology industry. This
revived the state’s economy.
..More to explore
American Revolution • Boston
• Industrial Revolution • Puritans
Cape Cod is a popular destination for tourists
in the summertime.
Students sit on the grass on the campus of
Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
It is one of the top universities in
the United States. It is also the country’s
oldest school of higher learning.
Facts About
MASSACHUSETTS
Flag
Population
(2000 census)
6,349,097—
rank, 13th state;
(2008 estimate)
6,497,967—
rank, 15th state
Capital
Boston
Area
10,555 sq mi
(27,336 sq km)—
rank, 44th state
Statehood
February 6, 1788
Motto
Ense Petit
Placidam Sub
Libertate Quietem
(By the Sword We
Seek Peace, but
Peace Only
Under Liberty)
State bird
Black-capped
chickadee
State flower
Mayflower
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Massachusetts 73
Massachusetts
Bay Colony
In 1630 a group of people called Puritans
left England for North America.
The settlement they started in America
was called the Massachusetts Bay
Colony.
The Puritans were a group of Protestant
Christians with strict religious beliefs.
They disagreed with some practices of
England’s official church, the Church of
England. The English government mistreated
them because of their beliefs.
The Puritans wanted to find a place
where they could practice their religion
in peace. In 1629 King Charles I of
England gave a group of Puritans permission
to trade and settle in America.
The group was called the Massachusetts
Bay Company.
The Massachusetts Bay Company sent
more than 1,000 Puritans across the
Atlantic Ocean in 1630. They were the
first settlers of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony. Their leader was JohnWinthrop.
They set up their own government
and started several towns. Boston
was the most important town.
The Puritans did not allow people who
disagreed with their religious beliefs to
live in the colony. RogerWilliams was
one of the people who was forced to
leave. He then founded the colony of
Rhode Island.
Trouble gradually built up between
England and the Massachusetts Bay
Colony. The king had not wanted the
74 Massachusetts Bay Colony BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
colonists to govern themselves. In 1684
King Charles II put the Massachusetts
