Charter Issued, by James I, who despised the Puritans and increased the persecution of them. The Puritans asked John Winthrop, a wealthy lawyer, to negotiate on their behalf to establish a new settlement in the new world. James agreed to provide the Puritans with a charter to start a new colony- it was to be called the Massachusetts Bay Company. John Winthrop was appointed as the first governor of the colony to be. Bio of John Winthrop

Boston Founded, by over 1,000 colonists in 17 ships departed for the new world, in the largest migration of the century. In 1630 the colonist arrived at Massachusetts Bay. They were well equipped and founded the city of Boston. Winthrop, the first governor wrote: "For we must consider that we shall be like a City upon Hill; the eyes of all people are on us."

Governing the Colony. The company tied its fate to that of the colony and soon moved its headquarters from England to Boston. By the early 1840s 16,000s people lived in Boston and the surrounding area. The Puritans transformed their churches so that each church would choose its own minister. They also transformed the Massachusetts Bay Company from a chartered company into a self-governing commonwealth. A general court became the highest authority in the new colony. All adult freeman (not indentured servants) who were church members became part of the General Court. They elected the governor.