Massachusetts Bay Colony

In 1630 John Winthrop organized a fleet of 11 ships to carry almost 1000 immigrants from England to America and founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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Background
The first English Colony was at Jamestown Virginia in 1607. The second was the founding of Plymouth_Colony in 1620 in Massachusetts. Both were actually very small settlements that only just barely survived. There were a couple of settlements that either collapsed or were abandoned and the settlers returned to Europe.

The next big colony push was John Winthrop leading a small flotilla in 1630 to settle near the area of present day Boston. It was named the Massachusetts Bay Colony after the name of the indian tribes that lived in that area. It's principle cities were Boston, Watertown, Charlestown, and Salem along with a many of the small farmtowns that stand today.

A key catalyst for this big migration was the internal strife in England in the first half of the 17th Century. The Stuart dynasty has just come to power and aligned itself with the Church of England (Anglican faith) and began intense persecution of those who practised Catholism (the predessor of Anglican church) and Puritans, which was the intended to be a even more "pure" form of Christian faith than either the Catholic or Anglican church. There was also the rich acquiring up a lot of farmlands forcing the poor off their farms and into London. Then the Thirty Years War started in 1618 that pitted England and other Protestant countries against the Catholic countries of Spain and Central Europe.

Governor Winthrop was a leading organizer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and his principle motivation was to create the ideal Puritan community as an example to the world. Unlike the Pilgrims that settled Plymouth, this group enjoyed greater abundance of financial backing and starting supplies.

Winthrop Fleet
The Winthrop Fleet consisted of eleven ships sailing from Yarmouth, Isle of Wright to Salem. Some sailed April 8, arriving June 13, 1630 and the following days, the others to sail in May, arriving in July.

In 1630 John Winthrop organized a fleet of 11 ships to carry almost 1000 immigrants from England to America and founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Departing in two groups in April and May, they arrived at various dates in June and July. These ships were:The Ambrose; The Arabella; The Charles; The Hopewell; The Jewel; The Mayflower; The Success; The Talbot ; The Trial; The Whale; The William & Francis

For an incomplete list of these immigrants (work in progress) see Immigrant Ships To America/First Families/Winthrop Fleet.

Colony Founding
Most early New England settlements were founded near where rivers reached the sea because of dependence on England for supplies and also river basins had the best farmland. 1000 settlers came with Winthrop in 1630 but about 20% died in the first harsh winter