One hundred settlers, led by the Minister Thomas Hooker, set up a new colony in Connecticut. These new settlers rejected the autocratic rule of the Puritans in Massachusetts.

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Hooker Unhappy with Government

The Massachusetts Bay Colony continued to grow, but not all the members of the colony agreed with how it was being governed. Thomas Hooker and a Puritan clergyman was one of those who disagreed with the governing of the colony. He heard of a fertile valley along a river to the south. He successfully convinced his family and 100 others to move with him. Biography of Hooker

Hartford Founded

In 1636 Hookers party left for the new settlement. They traveled two weeks to the Connecticut valley. They established a new settlement at the site of an Old Dutch fort. They called it Hartford. Three years later in 1639 Hartford and two other settlements together formed the colony of Connecticut.

Fundamental Principals
Hooker believed that government should be based on the consent of those governed. He thus drew up a document that was called the Fundamental Principals. The Principals were the first written document to describe a method of government in the colonies. The principals guaranteed the right to vote to all members of Puritan churches. Fundemental Principals

New Haven Founded
Another group of Puritans founded another settlement called New Haven. These puritans were stricter in their interpretation of law. They called for the colony to be governed by the ?Word of God? . New Haven Laws.

Both colonies were not officially authorized by England. In 1662 King Charles II officially gave Connecticut a charter.