New Haven Colony was an English colony from 1638 to 1664 that included settlements on the north shore of

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

, with outposts in modern-day New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. The colony joined

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

in 1664. The history of the colony was a series of disappointments and failures. The most serious problem was that New Haven Colony never had a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

giving it legal title to exist. The larger, stronger colony of Connecticut to the north did have a charter. New Haven's leaders were businessmen and traders, but they were never able to build up a large or profitable trade because their agricultural base was poor, farming the rocky soil was difficult, and the location was isolated.

History

In 1637, a group of London merchants and their families moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

with the intention of creating a new settlement. The leaders were John Davenport, a Puritan minister, and

Theophilus Eaton Theophilus Eaton ( January 7, 1658) was a New England Colonies, New England colonist, politician, merchant and financier, who took part in organizing and financing the Puritan migration, Great Puritan Migration to America. He was a founder ...

, a wealthy merchant who brought £3,000 to the venture. Both had experience in fitting out vessels for the Massachusetts Bay Company. The two ships that they chartered arrived in Boston on June 26, 1637. They learned about the area around the Quinnipiac River from militia engaged in the

Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place in 1636 and ended in 1638 in New England, between the Pequot nation and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Na ...

, so Eaton set sail to view the area in late August. The site seemed ideal for trade, with a good port lying between Boston and the Dutch city of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

on Manhattan and good access to the furs of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

valley settlements of Hartford and Springfield. Eaton returned to Boston, leaving seven men to remain through the winter and make preparations for the arrival of the rest of the company. The main body of settlers landed on April 14, 1638, numbering about 250, with the addition of some from Massachusetts. A number of the early dwellings were caves or "cellers", partially underground and carved into hillsides.

Founding as Quinnipiac

The first English settlers gave their settlement the name Quinnipiac (rendered in various spellings, including "Quinipiek" in local records from the time). The name lasted until September 1, 1640 (O.S.), when records of the plantation's general court note "This towne now named Newhaven ic" The settlers had no official charter. Historian Edward Channing describes them as squatters, whereas author Edward Atwater holds that a land purchase from the local natives had been effected sometime before their arrival in April, although no written deed was signed until November 24, 1638. A second deed was made December 11, 1638 for a ten by thirteen mile tract north of the first purchase.

Fundamental Agreement

On October 25, 1639, the colonists adopted a " Fundamental Agreement" for self-government, partly as a result of a similar action in the Connecticut Colony. According to its terms, a court composed of 16 burgesses, i.e. voting citizens, was established to appoint a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

and officials and to conduct the business of the plantation. The only eligible voters were "planters" who were members of "some or other of the approved Churches of New England". This excluded indentured servants, temporary residents, and transient persons, who were considered to have no permanent interest in the community.Bacon, Leonard, "Civil Government of the New Haven Colony", Papers of the New Haven Museum and Historical Society, Vol.1, 1865
/ref> They further determined "that the word of God shall be the only rule to be attended unto in ordering the affairs of government in this plantation." Theophilus Eaton was chosen as the first Magistrate. As the Bible contains no reference to trial by jury, the colonists eliminated it and the magistrate sat in judgment. This is said to have been one of "the first examples in history of a written constitution organizing a government and defining its powers."

Formation of New Haven Colony

The plantation (or town) soon had neighboring settlements established by other groups of Puritans from England.: * Nearby, two settlements independent of Quinnipiac formed: the settlement at Wepowauge (later known as Milford) by a land grant to English settlers from the Paugusset on February 12, 1639 and at Menunkatuck (later known as Guilford) by land grant to English settlers from the Quinnipiac on September 29, 1639. * Settlers from New Haven established Rippowam (later known as Stamford) and Southold on the North Fork of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in 1640. * And about 1640, New Haven bought the land that became

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

from the Siwanoy Indians.Lambert, Edward R. (1838)
History of the colony of New Haven
Before and after the Union, The Original Six, Hitchcock & Stafford, p. 55 Through the intrigues of Dutch Gov. Peter Stuyvesant, the first inhabitants revolted with the Dutch. On October 23, 1643, in the context of the formation of the New England Confederation, composed of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth and Connecticut Colonies, for joint military action against threats of attack by natives, the New Haven Plantation and its subsidiary settlements, Stamford and Southhold on Long Island, were combined with the independent towns of Milford and Guilford and named the New Haven Colony which then joined the Confederation. The town of Branford was settled in 1644 by residents from Wethersfield, Connecticut Colony, who were dissatisfied with the theocratic rule there. They joined the New Haven Colony. Eaton served as governor of the new colony until his death in 1658.

Expansion of the Colony

In 1641, the colony claimed the area that is now

South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

after buying land south of Trenton along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

from the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

tribe.

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May (sometimes Cape May City) is a City (New Jersey), city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean ...

and Salem, New Jersey were among the communities that were founded. The treaty with the Lenape placed no westward limit on the land west of the Delaware, which became the legal basis for a Connecticut "sea to sea" claim of owning all the land on both sides of the Delaware from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This set the stage for the Pennamite-Yankee War of 150 years later. In 1642, 50 families on a ship captained by George Lamberton settled at the mouth of

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

to establish the trading post at what is today Philadelphia. The Dutch and Swedes who were already in the area burned their buildings, and a court in

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

convicted Lamberton of "trespassing, conspiring with the Indians." The New Haven Colony did not get any support from its New England patrons, and Puritan Governor John Winthrop testified that the "Delaware Colony" "dissolved" owing to "sickness and mortality."

Phantom ship legend

With no ships of its own, the colony had to do all of its trade through Massachusetts. Accordingly

commissioned the construction of a 150-ton trade ship for the colony. The ship was quite poorly constructed but nonetheless after some difficulty was sent out of the Long Island Sound and off to England. The ship would never be seen again. According to

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he join ...

in his Magnalia Christi Americana, the settlers gathered on the beach where they saw a detailed vision of a ship in the aftermath of a storm. The fate of the ship was depicted in

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

's 1847 poem "The Phantom Ship".

Harboring the regicide judges

In 1660, following the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, Edward Whalley and his son-in-law William Goffe, two of the 59 commissioners who signed the 1649 execution warrant of Charles I, fled England to North America. They sought protection from agents of Charles II, who intended to bring them to justice. In 1661 they arrived in New Haven. John Davenport arranged for them to hide in the hills northwest of the town. They purportedly took refuge in a rock formation in present-day West Rock Ridge State Park. Another regicide commissioner, John Dixwell, joined them at a later time. Three Judges' Cave today bears a historical marker in their name.

Merger with Connecticut Colony

New Haven urgently needed a royal charter, but the colony had made enemies in London by hiding and protecting the regicide judges. An uneasy competition ruled New Haven's relations with the larger and more powerful Connecticut River settlements centered on

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. New Haven published a complete legal code in 1656, but the law remained very much church-centered. A major difference between the New Haven and Connecticut colonies was that the Connecticut Colony permitted other churches to operate on the basis of "sober dissent", while the New Haven Colony only permitted the Puritan church to exist. A royal charter was issued to Connecticut in 1662, ending New Haven's period as a separate colony, and its towns were merged into the government of

in 1664.

Founding of Newark

A group of New Haven colonists led by

Robert Treat Robert Treat (February 23, 1622July 12, 1710) was an English-born politician, military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Connecticut from 1683 to 1687 and 1689 to 1698. In 1666, he co-founded the colonial settlemen ...

and others moved to establish a new community in

in 1666, seeking to maintain the Puritan religious exclusivism and theocracy that was lost with the New Haven Colony's merger with Connecticut Colony. Treat wanted to name the new community after Milford, Connecticut. However Abraham Pierson was to urge that the new community be named "New Ark" or "New Work" which was to evolve into the name

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

.Edward Paul Rindler, "The Migration from the New Haven Colony to Newark, East New Jersey: A Study of Puritan Values and Behavior, 1630–1720" PhD dissertation U of Pennsylvania; ''Dissertation Abstracts International'' (1978), 38#11 pp 6792–679
online
/ref>