Massachusetts

Massachusetts was a site of early English colonization. The Plymouth Colony was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims of Mayflower. In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, taking its name from the Indigenous Massachusett people, also established settlements in Boston and Salem. In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America’s most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials.^[49] In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the “Cradle of Liberty”^[50] for the agitation there that later led to the American Revolution. In 1786, Shays’ Rebellion, a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention.^[51] Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing, and trade,^[52] Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution.^[53] Before the American Civil War, the state was a center for the abolitionist, temperance,^[54] and transcendentalist^[55] movements.^[56] During the 20th century, the state’s economy shifted from manufacturing to services;^[57] and in the 21st century, Massachusetts has become the global leader in biotechnology,^[58] and also excels in artificial intelligence,^[59] engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.