GED Instructor Mrs. Lynch organized a YouTube channel exclusively dedicated to GED students made for her online students from Shelton, CT, but any GED students are more than welcome to take advantage of these lessons. Lesson #4 gives a broad overview of the early history of New England as a whole, while also taking a closer look at Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony. Click here for a 62-minute YouTube video posted on May 9, 2024.

Mrs. Lynch begins by describing the differences between the Separatists and the Puritans who each came from different parts of England in the 17th century.

She then goes on to describe Plymouth Colony that was created to further separatist beliefs. The Mayflower Compact, written just before they landed, became the governing document for the Colony.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was formed ten years later and was located in the Boston Area. It was governed by John Winthrop and became quite successful.

As the English population grew throughout the first hundred years, the Native population declined dramatically, both from disease and from warfare. Radicals like Ann Hutchinson and Roger Williams settled in Rhode Island which was formed outside both the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies.