Connecticut History Timeline

By | May 12, 2022

The original inhabitants of Connecticut (Algonquian Indians) referred to this land as Quinnetukut, which is believed to mean ” The Place of the Long River”.

All those Native Americans would perish from diseases brought to this land by European explorers in the 17th century, and from the brutality of colonial expansion through their ancestral homelands.

In that regard, a Dutch explorer, Adrien Block, sailed up the Connecticut River in 1614. Later, under present-day Hartford, the setting shop of the Dutch West India Company, built a fort and trading post.

That Dutch fortification proved short-lived as Palmer and Puritan colonists from Massachusetts established new settlements along the Connecticut River and the Dutch would be driven out by mid-century.

Over time, those new settlements (or incursions) infuriated the local Indians, and they resisted stubbornly. Fully enforced by firepower and manpower, the Indian’s efforts proved futile, and by 1637, they were nearly annihilated, or captured and sold into slavery in Bermuda, the Pilgrims and the Puritans quickly adopted their independent constitutions based on the “testament of the people” and “sacred scriptures” respectfully. In 1662 the Royal Charter joined the two groupings as the Colony of Connecticut. One of the more fiercely independent of the original 13 British colonies, the Connecticut Colony proved troublesome for the British, up to and including the American Revolution.

  • Topschoolsintheusa: Guides to study in Connecticut, including geography, climate, economy, and tourism of the state.
  • A2zcamerablog: Offers general information about Connecticut, covering history, population, economy and county list.
  • Campingship: State outline of Connecticut, including geography location, state capital, brief history and a list of largest counties by area.

The British saw an opportunity to tax the newfound wealth of their American colonies, and Connecticut was no exception. Particularly violated by the Stamp Act, powerful landowners and merchants in England’s colonies rebelled and they proudly declared their independence from Great Britain.

Connecticut played a significant role in the American Revolution. A reported 42,500 of his men served in the army and one of his bravest, Nathan Hale, (America’s first spy) was captured by the British, and prior to being hanged, declared the memorable words, “I regret that I have only one life to lose for my country.”

Connecticut timeline

1600s

  • (1614) Dutch trader, Adrien Block, floated up the Connecticut River, landed near Hartford
  • (1633) Dutch lands purchased from the Pequot Tribe, made permanent accommodation; Plymouth Colony sent William Holmes to establish a trading post at Windsor
  • (1634) Weatherford founded, oldest permanent settlement in the state
  • (1635) First English settlers arrived at Windsor; Fort installed at Saybrook
  • (1636) Massachusetts colonists arrived, founded Hartford
  • (1637) War between settlers and Indians Pequot; Captain John Mason led the colonists to victory
  • (1638) New Haven founded
  • (1639) First constitution, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, passed; John Haynes, chosen as the first governor
  • (1643) Connecticut participated in the formation of the New England Confederacy
  • (1650) Legislature passed Code of Laws
  • (1662) Governor Winthrop received a royal charter for the Colony of Connecticut from King Charles II
  • (1675-1676) Connecticut fought in King Philip’s War; Indians were destroyed
  • (1687) King James canceled charter, took legal rights of colonists; Oak charter incident occurred
  • (1689) Government of Connecticut resumed under charter

1700s

  • (1701) University School authorized
  • (1717) Collegiate School moved to New Haven, changed name to Yale University
  • (1740) Tinware made in Berlin; religious “Great Awakening” occurred
  • (1745) Connecticut troops led by Roger Wolcott captured Louisbourg
  • (1765) English Parliament passed the Stamp Act
  • (1767) English Parliament passed the Townshead Act
  • (1774) Connecticut extended jurisdiction over the Susquehanna Company in northern Pennsylvania; Connecticut sent representatives to the First Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia
  • (1775) Connecticut men helped capture Tyconderoga; the first gunpowder factory started in East Hartford; Connecticut militias left for Massachusetts for the “Lexington Alert”
  • (1776) Declaration of Independence signed; Nathan Hale captured by the British
  • (1777) British troops raided Danbury
  • (1779) British troops raided New Haven, Fairfield, Norwalk
  • (1781) Benedict Arnold, British forced captured Fort Griswold, burned many buildings; one major Revolutionary War fought occurred in New London
  • (1783) Protestant Episcopal Church formed at Woodbury
  • (1784) Connecticut left the Westmoreland area of ​​Pennsylvania; act passed for emancipation at the age of twenty-five for all blacks
  • (1787) At the Philadelphia Constituent Assembly of Connecticut Includes enacted permission for equal representation in Congress, House of Representatives by the people
  • (1788) Federal Constitution approved; Connecticut became the Fifth National State
  • (1792) First arterial line established from New London to Norwich
  • (1795) Connecticut Western Reserve Lands sold for $1,200,000, proceeds used to establish School Fund

1800s

  • (1802) Copper industry started at Waterbury
  • (1806) Noah Webster published the first edition of his dictionary
  • (1814) Hartford Treaty held at the Old State House
  • (1815) First steamboat on the Connecticut River to Hartford

Connecticut History