About the author
Edward A. St. Germain created AmericanRevolution.org in 1996. He was an avid historian with a keen interest in the Revolutionary War and American culture and society in the 18th century. On this website, he created and collated a huge collection of articles, images, and other media pertaining to the American Revolution. Edward was also a Vietnam veteran, and his investigative skills led to a career as a private detective in later life.
1. New Hampshire was initially settled in 1623, but did not receive a royal charter and officially become a colony until 1679
The colony began as a series of small settlements with small-scale local governance, not large enough to become a colony on its own. Only later, once New England expanded, did New Hampshire develop enough to become self-governing.
2. New Hampshire was a part of Massachusetts from 1641 to 1679
As a series of small settlements, it was decided to put New Hampshire’s territory under Massachusetts’ control from 1641. Local townspeople accepted the move in order to gain access to a stable governance and court system, as well as protection from neighbouring French settlements and Native American raids.
Eventually, New Hampshire was carved out of Massachusetts after the heirs of Captain John Mason (who had originally been granted New Hampshire) petitioned to assert their land claims in London.
Granting a royal charter also enabled the Crown to reduce the influence of the Massachusetts colonial government (which operated under a corporate, private charter) and bring the territory back under royal control.
3. The two biggest industries of colonial New Hampshire were fishing and lumber
Cod and mackerel were preserved and exported throughout the Thirteen Colonies and internationally, and New Hampshire was renowned for its white pine trees, which were perfect for use as ship masts.
4. The British reserved pine trees in New Hampshire for exclusive Crown use, even on private land
From 1691, all white pine trees over 24 inches in diameter were officially reserved for the British Crown, in large part due to Royal Navy demand for ship masts. In 1722, this was changed to just 12 inches.
Early on, the rules were not strongly enforced, but this changed from the mid-1700s. Crown surveyors would mark pine trees above the minimum size with an arrow, signifying that they could not be cut down by colonists, no matter where they were located.
This later led to one of the first significant acts of colonial resistance against the British – the 1772 Pine Tree Riot in Weare, New Hampshire.
5. New Hampshire was dominated by the Congregational (Puritan) church, but was more tolerant of different religions compared to colonies like Massachusetts
Initially, residents were required to pay taxes to their local Congregational parish, regardless of their religious denomination, with few exceptions for religious dissenters who practiced other forms of Protestantism.
From the early 1700s, towns were allowed to nominate their own ministers, allowing Presbyterians, Anglicans, and other denominations to pay taxes to their own churches in specific areas.
6. New Hampshire had rocky soil and a short growing season, meaning it had to import wheat and grain from other colonies, such as Pennsylvania
While family farms did exist in the colony, they did not produce large amounts of staple crops compared to the other Middle and Southern Colonies.
7. Due to its economic structure, New Hampshire had relatively few slaves compared to most of the other colonies
There were few large-scale farms or plantations in New Hampshire, unlike in the Middle and Southern Colonies, meaning that relatively few slaves were imported into the province.
However, slaves did work as household servants in New Hampshire, and at docks such as Portsmouth.
8. The population of New Hampshire was estimated at 500 in 1630, 2,047 in 1680, 10,755 in 1730, and 87,802 in 1780
The colony’s population growth was slow to begin with, as people instead migrated to large settlements in Massachusetts and Virginia.
This eventually changed once New Hampshire’s economy began to take hold, focused on maritime trade and logging.
9. On December 14 and 15, 1774, New Hampshire Patriots seized gunpowder and weapons from the British by force in Portsmouth, months before the Revolutionary War began
Rebels under the command of John Sullivan and John Langdon raided Fort William and Mary, taking control of the British position.
On the first day, fighting occurred between the two sides, including a volley of gunfire from the New Hampshirites. But the British were massively outnumbered 400 to six, and so they quickly gave up the fort without recording any casualties.
On the second day, the Patriots returned and overran the British again, this time without firing a shot, and seized further guns and cannons from the fort.
10. New Hampshire had the shortest coastline of the Thirteen Colonies, at just 18 miles long
Despite this, the province supported a significant maritime trade, fishing, and shipbuilding industry.
Today, New Hampshire has the shortest coastline of any coastal US state.
