Massachusetts title transfer
- When
- 1632–1639
- Where
- Privy Council of Charles I; England
- Episodes
- 2
Sir Ferdinando Gorges, a Plymouth governor, challenged the Massachusetts Bay Colony's charter in 1632. He later received a 1639 charter from Charles I for the Province of Maine. No supplied passage documents a 1637 transfer of the Massachusetts title to Gorges; the 1639 Maine charter is a separate grant.
Episodes
- Questioning Massachusetts Charter
Gorges and banished colonists challenged the Massachusetts Bay Colony's royal charter in 1632.
- Maine Charter 1639
Charles I granted Gorges a 1639 charter for the Province of Maine with increased powers.
Background and detail
Background. Sir Ferdinando Gorges was a naval commander and governor of Plymouth in England. He was involved in early English trade and settlement in North America, founding the Province of Maine in 1622, and is known as the "Father of English Colonization in North America" despite never visiting the New World.
Charter Challenge. In 1632, Gorges, along with banished colonists from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, formally questioned the issuance of its royal charter. He forwarded complaints and charges made by these disaffected colonists to the Privy Council of King Charles I.
Maine Charter. A reconfirmed and enhanced charter from King Charles I in 1639 granted Gorges increased powers over the new province. This charter explicitly stated that the territory "shall forever hereafter, be called and named the PROVINCE OR COUNTIE OF MAINE."
People involved
- Sir Ferdinando Gorges · Naval commander, governor of Plymouth, and founder of the Province of Maine
- King Charles I · Monarch who issued the 1639 charter for Maine
Sources
- Ferdinando Gorges Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.