Province of Massachusetts Bay

Province of Massachusetts Bay
1691–1780
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  God Save the King (1745–1775)
Map depicting the colonial claims related to the province
Capital	Boston
Common languages	English, French, Massachusett, Mi'kmaq
Religion	Congregationalism
Government	Self-governing colony (1691–1774) Crown colony (1774–1775) Provisional government (1775–1780)
Monarch
• 1691–1694	William III & Mary II
• 1760–1780	George III
Governor
• 1692–1694	Sir William Phips
• 1774–1775	Thomas Gage
President of the Congress
• 1774–1775	John Hancock
• 1775	Joseph Warren
• 1775–1780	James Warren
Legislature	Great and General Court (1691–1774) Massachusetts Provincial Congress (1774–1780)
Historical era	British colonization of the Americas American Revolution
• Massachusetts Charter issued	October 7, 1691
• Massachusetts Government Act	May 20, 1774
• Provincial Congress established	October 4, 1774
• Massachusetts Declaration of Independence	May 1, 1776
• Massachusetts Constitution adopted	October 25, 1780
Currency	Massachusetts pound, Spanish dollar, US Dollar
Preceded by Succeeded by Plymouth Colony Massachusetts Bay Colony Province of Maine Acadia Massachusetts Nova Scotia
Today part of	Canada United States

The Province of Massachusetts Bay^[1] was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and was based in the merging of several earlier British colonies in New England. The charter took effect on May 14, 1692, and included the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth Colony, the Province of Maine, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the direct successor. Maine has been a separate state since 1820, and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are now Canadian provinces, having been part of the colony only until 1697.

The name Massachusetts comes from the Massachusett Indians, an Algonquian tribe. It has been translated as "at the great hill", "at the place of large hills", or "at the range of hills", with reference to the Blue Hills and to Great Blue Hill in particular.