Province of Maine

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The Province of Maine was a short-lived construct in the 17th century. It was not an official province of the English colonies. It stretched along the northeast coast of North America in an area which today includes the states of Maine , New Hampshire and Vermont , as well as areas of the Canadian provinces of Québec and New Brunswick . The province was based on grants issued for this area. In the 1650s, the area became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . The name Maine goes back to the French territory of Meyne , over which Queen Henrietta Maria of France ruled.

history

Patent from 1622

The blue line marks the Grant of 1622. The division of 1629 is represented by the different colors. The Massachusetts Bay Company grant borders are green.

The first patent on which the Province of Maine goes back was granted on August 10, 1622 to Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason by the Plymouth Council for New England corporation . This earned the right to Grants awarded by the Royal Patent of King I. Jacob , who her a field in North America between the 40th and 48th latitude allotted.

The first grant covered an area between the Merrimack River and the Kennebec River , and land between the upper reaches of the two rivers. Gorges and Mason divided the area on the Piscataqua River in 1629 . Mason kept the land south of the Piscataqua River and established the Province of New Hampshire .

The northern part kept Gorges and named the area New Somersetshire . Lack of funding and the lack of a royal charter hampered development. Only a few small settlements were built.

Patent from 1639

In 1639 Gorges received a renewed patent for the area between the Piscataqua River and the Kennebec River, this time in the form of a royal charter. The area was roughly the same as that in the 1622 patent after it was partitioned with Mason in 1629. Another attempt at colonization was not very successful either. Lack of money and the lack of settlers did not allow any particular growth. However, the colony continued to exist even after Gorges' death in 1647.

Takeover by Massachusetts Bay Colony

As early as the 1640s, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was expanding its territory to the north. On the grounds that the northernmost degree of latitude through which the river flows was further north than its mouth, it claimed areas that would later become New Hampshire. After a survey in the early 1650s, the Massachusetts Bay Colony expanded its area to Casco Bay . In 1658 it comprised the entire area that was granted to Gorges.

In the 1664 grant, King Charles II transferred the land rights to areas north and east of the Kennebec River to his brother, later King James II , who was the Duke of York at the time.

Under the terms of this patent, the area became part of the Province of Des Dukes, the Province of New York, as Cornwall County . The areas covered by this patent include the area between the Kennebec River and the St. Croix River . This area was previously referred to as the Territory of Sagadahock . It now forms the eastern part of the state of Maine.

The intention of Charles II to include the area of ​​the former Grant von Gorges also failed because of the heirs of Gorges, who sold their remaining claims to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

In 1691 King Wilhelm III. and Queen Mary II created the Charter for the new Province of Massachusetts Bay . The territories of the Province of Massachusetts Bay included the rights of the former Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Dukes of York, among other areas.

Aspirations for independence

After controversy, the area was incorporated into the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1692 according to the 1628 patent. However, there were efforts in 1786, 1787, 1802 and 1816 to become independent from Massachusetts. This was achieved with the establishment of the state of Maine by an act of Congress on March 16, 1820.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b A Brief History of the Province of Maine, 1626-1639. In: celebrateboston.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Maine, a Guide 'down East,' . Best Books on, 1937, ISBN 978-1-62376-018-2 , pp. 3 ( books.google.de ).
  3. ^ A Grant of the Province of Maine to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason, esq., 10th of August, 1622. In: yale.edu. avalon.law.yale.edu, 1998, accessed March 10, 2018 .
  4. ^ Grant of the Province of Maine: 1639. In: yale.edu. avalon.law.yale.edu, 1998, accessed March 10, 2018 .
  5. ^ Grant of the Province of Maine: 1664. In: yale.edu. avalon.law.yale.edu, 1998, accessed March 10, 2018 .
  6. ^ The Charter of Massachusetts Bay-1691. In: yale.edu. avalon.law.yale.edu, 1998, accessed March 10, 2018 .