This disaster ended the dream of creating an economic empire and over the years New Haven became overshadowed by New Amsterdam and Boston. In an attempt to establish direct trade with England, the settlers managed to assemble enough produce to fill a vessel which would become known as the "Great Shippe." However, after setting sail in January, 1646, the ship and its crew were never heard from again. Over the next few years, however, the flow of newcomers began to weaken and trade with the outside world shifted more and more to Boston. By 1641 New Haven had grown into a community of approximately 800. In accordance with old English custom, the central square, now the Green, was designated a public common. The town plan was based on a grid of nine squares. New Haven's founders not only hoped to create a Christian utopia, they also saw in New Haven's spacious harbor an opportunity to establish a commercial empire that would control Long Island Sound and possibly the coastline as far south as Delaware Bay.īy 1640 a complete government had been established and the settlement, originally called Quinnipiac, was renamed Newhaven. In return, the settlers pledged to protect the natives and to allow them the use of the lands on the east side of the harbor. It was for this reason that Momauguin, the sachem of the Quinnipiacks, and other tribe members agreed to sell the tribe's land to the Puritans. They soon discovered that the Quinnipiacks and other local tribes were much distressed by raiding bands of Pequots and Mohawks from surrounding areas. On April 24, 1638, a company of five-hundred English Puritans led by the Reverend John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, a wealthy London merchant, sailed into the harbor. They harvested seafood, hunted with bow and arrow for food and furs and grew maize, the staple of their diet. Less than four centuries ago the area which is now New Haven was the home of a small tribe of Native Americans, the Quinnipiack, who built their villages around the harbor. Native Americans and the Puritan Settlement
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