Everything about The Province Of Maine totally explained
The
Province of Maine refers to several
English colonies of that name that existed in the
17th century along the northeast coast of
North America, at times roughly encompassing portions of the present-day
U.S. states of
Maine,
New Hampshire,
Vermont, as well as the
Canadian province of
Quebec. The province existed through a series of land patents in several incarnations, the last of which was eventually absorbed into the
Province of Massachusetts Bay.
History
1622 Patent
The first patent establishing the Province of Maine was granted on
August 10,
1622 to
Ferdinando Gorges and
John Mason by the
Plymouth Council for New England, which itself had been granted a royal patent by
James I to the coast of
North America between the 40th to the 48th parallel "from sea to sea". This first patent encompassed the coast between the
Merrimack and
Kennebec rivers, as well as an irregular parcel of land between the headwaters of the two rivers. In
1629, Gorges and Mason agreed to split the patent at the
Piscataqua River, with Mason retaining the land south of the river as the
Province of New Hampshire.
Gorges named his more northerly piece of territory
New Somersetshire. This venture failed, however, because of lack of funds and colonial settlement.
1639 Patent
In
1639 Gorges obtained a renewed patent, the
Gorges Patent, for the area between the Piscataqua and Kennebec Rivers, in the form of a royal charter from
Charles I of England. The area was roughly the same as that covered in the 1622 patent after the 1629 split with Mason. The second colony also foundered for lack of money and settlers.
Absorption
In
1664, what had been the Province of Maine was given a grant by
Charles II of England to
James, Duke of York. Under the terms of this patent the territory was incorporated into
Cornwall County, part of the
Province of New York. Unlike the previous two patents, the territory stipulated in the 1664 charter encompassed the areas north of the Kennebec River to the
St. Croix River. This region, which had previously been called the
Territory of Sagadahock, forms the eastern portion of the present day state of Maine. The patent to James for this territory was renewed in
1674 and survives in
York County.
After a series of further permutations, the former Province had become, by the 18th century, part of the
Province of Massachusetts Bay, later the state of
Massachusetts. The region achieved statehood of its own only in
1820.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Province Of Maine'.
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