Massachusetts: Polity Style: 1629-2024 |
| 4/14 Mar 1629 |
a "body corporate and politique" is incorporated by the name of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England in accordance with a charter granted by the King of England on 4/14 Mar 1629 (Massachusetts Governor and Company Records, 1:3-19) [1] |
| Jun/Jul 1629 |
the colony of the Massachusetts Bay is established upon the delivery and publication of the Charter in Massachusetts [2] |
| Jun/Jul 1629 - 25 May/4 Jun 1686 |
Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England |
| 13/23 Oct 1684 |
the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England failed to respond to the accusations of violation of the Charter of 1629, which was subsequently cancelled by a judgement under a writ of scire facias made by the Court of Chancery on 13/23 Oct 1684 (Massachusetts Judgment 1684, pp. 246-278) |
| 25 May/4 Jun 1686 |
the exemplification of the judgment against the Charter of 1629 is publicly read at the meeting of the Council for New England on 25 May/4 Jun 1686 in Boston (Dudley Records, pp. 226-230) |
| 25 May/4 Jun 1686 |
Massachusetts is placed under the administration of the President and Council of the Territory and Dominion of New England in accordance with a royal commission to Joseph Dudley of 8/18 Oct 1685 which was read and published at the meeting of the Council on 25 May/4 Jun 1686 in Boston (Massachusetts Royal Commissions, pp. 37-43; Dudley Records, pp. 226-230) |
| 18/28 Apr 1689 |
the administration of the Dominion ceased to function as a result of the coup d'état of 18/28 Apr 1689 in Boston (Andros Tracts, 1:3-10) |
| 7/17 Jun 1689 |
the government under the Charter of 1629 is resumed upon the installation of Governor and Lieutenant Governor at the meeting of an assemby of representatives on 7/17 Jun 1689 in Boston (Notes on the Massachusetts Royal Commissions, pp. 25-26; Massachusetts Documents 1689-1692, pp. 90-91) |
| 7/17 Jun 1689 - 16/26 May 1692 |
Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England |
| 7/17 Oct 1691 |
the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, the Colony of (New) Plymouth, the Province of Maine, and the territory known as Accadia or Nova Scotia are united and incorporated as a crown colony under the name of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England in accordance with a charter granted by the King and Queen of England on 7/17 Oct 1691 (Massachusetts Acts and Resolves, 1:1-20) |
| 16/26 May 1692 |
the Charter establishing the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England is read and published at the meeting of the Council on 16/26 May 1692 in Boston (Notes on the Massachusetts Royal Commissions, p. 45) |
| 16/26 May 1692 - 18 Jul 1776 |
Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England : Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England [3] |
| 1 Jun 1776 |
the exercise of authority in the name of the King of Great Britain ceased, government is to be carried out in the name of the "Government and People of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England", in accordance with an act passed by the Great and General Court or Assembly (House of Represenatatives on 1 May 1776, concurred in by the Council on 1 May 1776, effective on 1 Jun 1776) (Massachusetts Acts and Resolves, 5:484-485; Massachusetts Session Laws, 1775-1776, c. XII, pp. 49-50; American Archives, ser. 4, 5:1301; Massachusetts House Journal, 1776, p. 229, error for p. 209) [4] |
| 4 Jul 1776 |
the British colonies represented in the Continental Congress are proclaimed "free and independent states" in accordance with a declaration approved by the Congress on 4 Jul 1776, session of the Congress, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Journals of the Continental Congress, 5:510-515) |
| 18 Jul 1776 |
the Declaration of Independence approved by the Continental Congress is proclaimed at a public ceremony in Boston (Boston Gazette, No. 1105, 22 Jul 1776, p. 3; Massachusetts Acts and Resolves, 5:651-653) |
| 18 Jul 1776 - 24 Oct 1780 |
State of the Massachusetts Bay [5] |
| 10 Mar 1778 |
the delegates of Massachusetts to the Continental Congress are authorized to ratify the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union in accordance with a resolution passed the General Court or Assembly (House of Representatives on 10 Mar 1778, concurred in by the Council on 10 Mar 1778) (Massachusetts House Journal, 1778, p. 206; Massachusetts Council Journal, MS, 1778, pp. 376-377; Journals of the Continental Congress, 11:663) |
| 9 Jul 1778 |
the engrossed copy of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union is signed and ratified by the delegates of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina to the Continental Congress, session of the Congress, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Journals of the Continental Congress, 11:677) |
| 25 Oct 1780 |
the Constitution or Frame of Government came into operation "on the last Wednesday in October next" (25 Oct 1780) in accordance with a resolution passed by the Convention on 16 Jun 1780 (Massachusetts Convention 1779-1780, pp. 186-187) |
| 25 Oct 1780 - |
Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
| 1 Mar 1781 |
Massachusetts
formed part of the United States upon the taking effect of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union (Journals of the Continental Congress, 19:213-223) |
| |
| [1] |
The variations in spelling were explicitly recorded in the Charter ("comonlie called Massachusetts, alias Mattachusetts, alias Massatusetts bay"). |
| [2] |
The Charter was dispatched to New England with Samuel Sharpe, sailing aboard the George, as confirmed by a letter sent from the Governor and Deputy of the New England Company to the Governor and Council in the Massachusetts Bay (dated 17 and 21 Apr 1629 O.S.) (Massachusetts Governor and Company Records, 1:386-398) The George is said to have arrived to Naumkeag (now Salem) on 23 Jun/3 Jul 1629 (Diary of Francis Higginson in Massachusetts Original Papers Collection, pp. 43-44). The date of delivery of the Charter to Governor Endecott and of its publication is not mentioned in any extant sources. |
| [3] |
The Provincial Congress approved the form of military commissions (1 May 1775) to be issued by the authority of "The Congress of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay" (Massachusetts Provincial Congress 1774-1775, pp. 174-175). |
| [4] |
Full title: An Act for establishing the Stile of Commissions which shall hereafter be issued, and for altering the Stile of Writs, Processes, and all Law Proceedings within this Colony; and for directing how Recognizances to the Use of this Government, shall for the future be taken and prosecuted. |
| [5] |
After the public proclamation of independence (18 Jul 1776), the word "state" in the polity style was substituted for "colony", although no formal act was passed to that effect. A motion to determine which word should be used in the proceedings failed on 10 Sep 1776. In the session of 7 Dec 1776, the House of Representatives "Ordered, That the words "State of Massachusetts-Bay," be inserted on the top of all acts and resolves that shall hereafter pass this Court." (Massachusetts House Journal, 1776-1777, pp. 97, 189) |
