Colony of New Haven

New Haven Colony
English colony
1638–1664
Flag
A map of the Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies.
Capital		New Haven
Languages		English
Government		Constitutional monarchy
History
•	Established	1638
•	Merged with Connecticut Colony	1664
Currency		Pound sterling
Succeeded by Connecticut Colony

The New Haven Colony was a small English colony in North America from 1637 to 1664 in what is now the state of Connecticut.

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 giving it legal title to exist. The larger, stronger colony of Connecticut to the north did have a charter, and Connecticut was aggressive in using its military superiority to force a takeover. New Haven had other weaknesses, as well. The 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. New Haven's political system was confined to church members only, and the refusal to widen it alienated many people.

Oliver Cromwell recommended that the New Haven colonists all migrate to Ireland or to Spanish territories that he planned to conquer, but the Puritans of New Haven were committed to their new land. One by one in 1662-64, the towns joined Connecticut Colony until only three were left, and they submitted to Connecticut in 1664. It became the modern city of New Haven.

In 1637, a group of London merchants and their families moved to Boston with the intention of creating a new settlement. The leaders were John Davenport, a Puritan minister, and Theophilus Eaton, a wealthy merchant who brought £3000 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, 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 on Manhattan and good access to the furs of the Connecticut River valley settlements of Hartford and Springfield.