Title: Massachusetts Bay Colony
Headings: the  first British colony in America to have its own  government

Content: Massachusetts Bay Colony
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Massachusetts Bay Colony
the  first British colony in America to have its own  government
In 1606, King  James I of Great Britain chartered the London and  Plymouth companies for the purpose of establishing  colonies in the New World. The London Company  subsequently founded Jamestown,  Virginia, but the Plymouth Company did nothing with  its charter. In 1628, the Plymouth Company, led by Sir Ferdinando  Gorges, secured a new charter under the name Council for  New England. The charter included a grant of all lands  between the 40th and 48th degrees of latitude, westward  to the Pacific Ocean. In 1628, the Council granted its  land to John Endecott and five  other men, who proceeded to lead about 60 Puritans to a  pre-existing settlement at Salem, on the Massachusetts  Bay. Given that the political climate in Great Britain  was at that time uncertain, the Council thought it wise  to gain a royal charter for the land it was settling, and  said charter was granted by King Charles I in March of  1629. That charter specifically granted the Council  control over a tract of land extending from three miles  south of the Charles River to a point three miles north  of the Merrimac, west to the Pacific Ocean. The Council  for New England was renamed the Governor and Company of  Massachusetts Bay in New England, which was given the  power to govern said territory. The Massachusetts Bay  Company placed the government of its colony in the hands  of a Governor, Deputy Governor, and 18 Assistants, all of  whom were to be elected by stockholders. Much of the new  charter resembled the charters granted to other colonies  in the New World, with one major exception -- it did not  specify that the seat of government had to remain in  England.