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Saybrook Colony

The Saybrook Colony was an English colony established in New England in late 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River which today is Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Saybrook was founded by John Winthrop the Younger, son of John Winthrop the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop the Younger was designated Governor by the original settlers, including Colonel George Fenwick and Captain Lion Gardiner. They claimed possession of the land via a deed of conveyance from Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick. The colony was named in honor of Lords Saye and Brooke, prominent Parliamentarians and holders of the colony's land grants.

Saybrook Colony

Colony of England

Saybrook

English

Puritanism

Self-governing colony

 

John Winthrop the Younger

George Fenwick

 

1635

1644

Pound sterling

History[edit]

Early settlers of the colony were ardent supporters of Oliver Cromwell and of democracy. Settlement preparations included sending a ship with an unusual cargo of ironwork for a portcullis and drawbridges, and even an experienced military engineer. Saybrook's fort was to be the strongest in New England. However, prominent Puritans soon "found the countrie [England] full of reports of their going", and they were worried that they would not be allowed to sell their estates and board their ship. By 1638, the plans for Saybrook were abandoned. The sponsors remained in England and played their respective political and military roles in the English Civil War and its aftermath. As a consequence, the colony struggled and, by 1644, the colony merged with the more vibrant Connecticut Colony a few miles up river.


In 1647, Major John Mason assumed command of Saybrook Fort, which controlled the main trade and supply route to the upper river valley. The fort mysteriously burned to the ground, but another improved fort was quickly built nearby. He spent the next 12 years there and served as Commissioner of the United Colonies, its chief military officer, Magistrate, and peacekeeper. He was continually called upon to fairly negotiate the purchase of Indian lands, write a treaty, or arbitrate some Indian quarrel, many of which were instigated by his friend Uncas.

– Connecticut planning region covering the area

Lower Connecticut River Valley

Young, Alfred A. (1991). "English Plebeian Culture and 18th Century American Radicalism". In Jacob, Margret C.; Jacob, James R. (eds.). The Origins of Anglo American Radicalism. New Jersey: Humanities Press International. p. 195.  978-1-57392-289-0. LCCN 90023163.

ISBN

Dunn, Richard S. (1962). . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691045610. JSTOR j.ctt183q261. LCCN 62007400. Retrieved December 8, 2021.

Puritans and Yankees: The Winthrop Dynasty of New England

Ward, Harry M. (1961). The United Colonies of New England: 1643–90. Vantage Press.  60015581.

LCCN

Andrews, Charles McLean (1934). The Colonial Period of American History – The Beginnings of Connecticut 1632–1662. Vol. II. Yale University Press.

History of Old Saybrook at the Old Saybrook Historical Society

41°17′06″N 72°21′29″W / 41.285°N 72.358°W / 41.285; -72.358