Pennsylvania is a commonwealth too! (i forget which other states are also 'incorporated' as commonwealths.)mostly its east coast states, many of which started with charters and grants from various english kings.

Massachusetts is an interesting case. most of the orignal colonies, as stated, were chartered by king's(queen's), and in every case but Massachusetts, the original copy of the charter remained in UK. John Winthrope, (a lawyer by trade) made sure to get a sealed copy of the charter which he took with him to colony. With the original document in hand, politics became an early game in New England.. (the charter was rather broad, and definded the colony to extend to pacific ocean!--or rather something along the words "extending westward till it came to natural border"--nowdays it Massachusetts doesn't even extend to the hudson river (and one could argue, it should have ended at the connetticut river, which divides Vermont and New Hampshire (as a 'natural border'))--there were other points of contention along the way, and since the goverment in Mass, had a copy of the charter, they always were interpting the clauses in ways that suited them. most other colonies had to send delegated to courts in london to settle disputes, and in london, crown had 'home court' advantage!

while some of the charters were for commercial corporations, (to develop lands in america for the betterment of the crown, or some such language) most had religious underpinnings. New Amsterdam (NY) was the only real wholey commercial enterprize, a court case in 1650, (John Bowne), decided that. John Bowne was the first person in americas to win the legal right to worship as he pleased, (so long as he made money!- state charity (dole) was limited to members of the Dutch reformed church)

John Bowne, curiously was married to John Winthrope's grand neice, Hannah Feake. (her mother Margaret Winthrope- was neice and daugher in law to JW) At the time of Hannah marrige, Margaret was onto husband #3, John Hallet (winthrope, feake, hallet) most maps of NYC still show Hallets Cove -- the area in north west queens where the Hallets lived. (near Hell Gate/Triboro Bridge) (my parents lived near hallets cove when i was born, and john bowne's house (part of the original 1647 dwelling, and parts added later, over the years) still exists in flushing. (technically i live in flushing, Rego Park is a subdivision of flushing)-so this is local history for me.


my other obsession