royal charter of Massachusetts Bay

E3905

The royal charter of Massachusetts Bay was a 17th-century English legal document that established the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s government and granted it broad powers of self-rule under the Crown.


Statements (51)
Predicate Object
instanceOf colonial charter
constitutional document
legal document
royal charter
abolishedBy Court of King’s Bench
appliesToJurisdiction Massachusetts Bay Colony
New England
authorizedBody Massachusetts Bay General Court
Massachusetts Bay assistants (magistrates)
Massachusetts Bay governor
contains provisions for a General Court of freemen
provisions for election of governor, deputy governor, and assistants
territorial grant in New England
country Kingdom of England
dateGranted 1629
defines corporate rights of Massachusetts Bay Company
governmental structure of Massachusetts Bay Colony
office of governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony
powers of the General Court in Massachusetts Bay
endTime 1684
follows Second Charter of Virginia
grantedBy Charles I of England
grantedTo Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England
Massachusetts Bay Company
grants broad powers of self-government
power to admit freemen of the company
power to elect colonial officers
power to hold courts
power to levy local taxes
power to make local laws and ordinances
hasEffect created a corporate colony under the Crown
established de facto self-rule in Massachusetts Bay Colony
provided legal basis for Puritan settlement in New England
historicalPeriod English colonization of North America
Stuart England
language English
legalForm corporate charter
locationOfSigning England
publisher English Crown
relatedTo Dominion of New England
Glorious Revolution in New England
Massachusetts Body of Liberties
replacedBy Province of Massachusetts Bay charter of 1691
charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
significantEvent establishment of Massachusetts Bay Colony
startTime 1629
subjectTo English law
sovereignty of the English Crown
territoryIncludes area around Massachusetts Bay
parts of present-day Massachusetts
parts of present-day New Hampshire

Referenced by (7)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
royal charter of Massachusetts Bay ("charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay")
royal charter of Massachusetts Bay ("Province of Massachusetts Bay charter of 1691")
replacedBy
Superior Court of Judicature ("royal charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay")
authority
Court of Oyer and Terminer
authorityDerivedFrom
New England political institutions ("Massachusetts Bay Charter")
basedOn
Deputy Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay ("Province of Massachusetts Bay charter of 1691")
officeCreatedBy
Mayflower Compact ("Massachusetts Bay Colony charter")
supersededBy

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