ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the religious, political, and economic development of New England and its clashing relationships with the Native American inhabitants. In England, Separatists were punished by fines and imprisonment. In 1620, after much negotiation, the London Company gave the Pilgrims permission to settle on its territory. To help with finances, a merchant named Thomas Weston formed a joint stock company which raised the funds necessary to transport them to America. The colony was ruled by a governor, seven counsellors, and representatives of each town. These representatives were elected annually by the adult males of "good character" and they elected the governor and his council. In 1623 the Council of New England granted land to the Dorchester Company to plant a colony of fishermen in what is now Massachusetts. Relations with Native Americans were simplified for the Puritans of Massachusetts because of the terrible plagues which decimated the New England tribes just before, and just after, the Puritans first arrived.
