Page 135 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

INTRODUCING NE W ENGLAND  133
NEW ENGLAND

For many people, New England is white-steepled churches, craggy coastlines,
historic villages, and timeless landscapes of tranquil farmlands and country
roads, with the sophisticated city of Boston as its cultural and commercial hub.
Many also regard it as the cradle of American civilization, for New England’s
early history is the history of the United States itself.

From the beginning, the region has been Newport, Rhode Island, the beautiful sur-
shaped by both geography and climate. burban communities of Connecticut, and
Early explorers charted its coastline, and the self-assured sophistication of Boston.
communities soon sprang up by the coast,
where goods and people could be ferried History
more easily from the Old World to the New England’s historical connections are
New. Early commerce depended heavily far richer than any other area in America,
on the ocean, from shipping and whaling for it was here that much of the drama of
to fishing and boat-building. forming a new country was played out.
The harsh, unpredictable climate, poor In 1614, the English explorer John Smith
soil, hilly terrain, and dense virgin forests sailed along the coast of Massachusetts,
also helped shape the character of its named it New England, and declared that
people. To survive in this area required it was the best place to set up a new
toughness, ingenuity, and a spirit of colony. On December 26, 1620, a group
independence – all traits that became of 102 Puritans, who had left England to
ingrained in the New England psyche. escape religious persecution, landed at
The slogan “Live free or die” on New Plymouth Rock after a grueling 66-day
Hampshire license plates is a reminder voyage on the Mayflower and established
that the same spirit lives on. Indeed, New one of America’s first permanent English
England today is as much a state of mind settlements. Soon, large settlements had
as it is a physical space. Despite this, New also grown up in Boston, Rhode Island,
England is also home to the opulence of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Stonington, a scenic town on Deer Isle, Penobscot Bay, Maine
A farm surrounded by fall foliage in picturesque Woodstock, Vermont

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