==History==
[[File:Col-mass.jpg|thumb|300px|Boston Harvard College was a thriving Atlantic port by 1700founded in 1638 making Boston the intellectual center of New England]]
Massachusetts was first settled by the [[Pilgrims]] who emigrated from [[England]] on the ''[[Mayflower]]'' in 1620 and founded a settlement at [[Plymouth Colony|Plymouth]], and soon afterward by the much larger group the [[Puritans]], who founded the "Massachusetts Bay Colony". Both groups came to America seeking religious freedom.