Saybrook Colony

Saybrook Colony
Colony of England
1635–1644
Coat of arms
A map of Connecticut annotated to show its colonial history and the establishment of its modern borders
Capital		Old Saybrook
Languages		English
Government		Constitutional monarchy
History
•	Established	1635
•	merged with Connecticut Colony	1644
Currency		Pound sterling
Succeeded by Connecticut Colony

Coat of arms

The Saybrook Colony was established in late 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River in present day Old Saybrook, Connecticut by John Winthrop, the Younger, son of John Winthrop, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop the Younger was designated Governor by the original settlers, including Colonel George Fenwick and Captain Lion Gardiner. They claimed possession of the land via a deed of conveyance from Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick. The colony was named in honor of Lords Saye and Brooke, prominent Parliamentarians and holders of the colony's land grants.

Early settlers of the colony were ardent supporters of Oliver Cromwell and of democracy. In the 1630s in what became Connecticut, it was rumored that Cromwell's emigration was imminent from England to Saybrooke, along with the departure from Old England of other prominent Puritan sponsors of the colony, including John Pym, John Hampden, Arthur Haselrig, and Lords Saye and Brooke. Even as late as the 1770s, residents of Old Saybrook still talked about which town lots would be given to prominent Parliamentarians.