Massachusetts is officially known as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, the most populous city in New England. It has the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island in the south, New Hampshire and Vermont in the north, and New York in the west. Massachusetts, whose name likely derived from a Wôpanâak word muswachasut, segmented as mus(ây) “big” + watch8 “mountain” + -s “diminutive” + –ut “locative” (the ‘8’ in these words refers to the ‘oo’ sound according to the Wôpanâak orthographic chart). It has been translated as “near the great hill”, “by the blue hills”, “at the little big hill”, or “at the range of hills”, referring to the Blue Hills, or in particular the Great Blue Hill, which is located on the boundary of Milton and Canton.
History
Massachusetts was originally inhabited by Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusetts. In the early 1600’s, large numbers of the peoples in the northeast were killed by epidem
ics such as smallpox, measles, influenza, and perhaps leptospirosis. About 90% of the population was killed by smallpox between 1617-1619.
The first English settlers in Massachusetts were Pilgrims, followed by Puritans.”First Thanksgiving” event was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest which lasted for three days.
Puritans believed that the Church of England needed to be purified and experienced harassment from English authority because of their beliefs. Their goal for arrival and settlement in Massachusetts was to establish an ideal religious society. In 1629, the bay colony was founded under the Royal Charter.
Numerous religious, as well as political disagreements, started taking place, resulting in several new colonies being founded elsewhere in New England. In 1641, Massachusetts expanded inland, obtaining the Connecticut River Valley settlement of Springfield, establishing its southern border in the west.
In 1691, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth were united into the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Some men and women were hanged for alleged witchcraft, after the arrival of the first governor, William Phillips. The year 1755, was marked for the occurrence of the most destructive earthquake.
Drainage and Climate
Massachusetts has 19 main systems,1,100 ponds, and lakes. Many bear long Indian names, most notably Lake Chaubunagungamaug the long form of which is Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg and some of the most known lakes and ponds are Connecticut, Charles, and Merrimack.
The world’s largest man-made domestic water supply, named Quabbin Reservoir, was built between 1933 and 1939 and required the displacement of 2,500 people and four towns to provide water for dozens of towns and cities to the east.
The climate of Massachusetts is temperate. It’s colder but drier in the western part, although its winter snowfalls may be more severe than those nearer the coast. Having July as the hottest and January as the coldest month. Annual precipitation averages 1,070 mm in Boston and 1,120 to 1,140 mm in Worcester and Pittsfield.
Massachusetts has many forests, and there are now nearly 150 state forests, reservations, and parks. Public hunting grounds amount to some 40 square miles.
Economy of country
The economy of the country is majorly based on technology, whereas a huge shift from the fishing and agricultural sector to the manufacturing sector has been observed. Little area of manufacturing was observed in Massachusetts in the early 1640’s. The maritime trade dominated Massachusetts’s economy for 200 years because of the state’s poor agriculture. Later, different areas and spheres started emerging, from telecommunication to banking, everything had importance then.
Education
Education lies close to the heart of Massachusetts. Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States was founded in 1636. It is one of the nation’s most prestigious universities. Harvard was named for a Puritan minister, John Harvard, who left the college his books and half of his estate. Charles W. Eliot made Harvard into an institution with national influence. The library in Harvard University is one of the largest and most important university libraries in the world. By the end of the 21st century, Harvard had educated seven U.S. presidents, and several justices, cabinet officers, and congressional leaders.
Tourist Attraction
A visit to Massachusetts is always worth it. Art, music, colonial history, patriotic landmarks, shopping, idyllic beaches, laid-back islands, succulent seafood- it is home for everything. Its itself a self-pleasing place consisting of some of the eye-catching sites such as- Freedom Trail, Cape Cod Beaches, Mayflower II and Plimoth Plantation, and so on.
Read about National Massachusetts Day here.
