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Connecticut
was originally inhabited by various Algoquian Native American Indian
tribes, the most powerful of these being the Pequot.
In 1614, Adriaen Block, Dutch
trader and navigator, was
the first European to explore Connecticut. By 1623, the Dutch West
India Company was trading in the area that is now Hartford, Connecticut.
The first English colonists came
from Massachusetts in the 1630’s and settled in Windsor, Wethersfield
and Hartford.
Tensions between the English and
Dutch, and the Pequot
and Mohegan tribes culminated in the Pequot War of 1637. This virtually
extinguished the Pequot tribe.
In 1639, the colony of
Connecticut was formed and the
Fundamental Orders were adopted. These orders describe the
self-governing government set up by the English settlers. It is
considered to be the first written Constitution in the Western
tradition, thus earning Connecticut its nickname of “The Constitution
State”.
Facing increasing pressure from
the number of English colonists, the Dutch withdrew from Connecticut by
1654.
Connecticut remained self
governing through the American
Revolution. Connecticut citizens gave of their blood and wealth.
Connecticut was named “The Provision State” during this time because of
supplies contributed to George Washington’s army by Governor Jonathan
Trumball, the only Colonial governor to support the Revolutionary War
cause. Connecticut adopted the United States Constitution in 1789.
During the 1800’s, engineers and
inventors such as Eli
Whitney of New Haven, made the state a leader in the Industrial
Revolution. A notable intellectual, Noah Webster, compiled his
dictionary in New Haven.
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