(1642-1651). Although nominally subjects of the crown, they did not obey it. The settlers maintained close ties with the Parliamentary cause in Britain. The supreme government of the colony was the General Court, which functioned autonomously, passing its own laws, establishing courts, incorporating townships and providing for the overall defense of the colony. They established a Puritan church rather than the Church of England.

In the early spring of 1639, approximately 60 planters took up residence on land cleared by the natives. In