2009 Articles

The Rise and Fall of the Province of Lygonia, 1643–1658

Farber, Hannah

Although Lygonia was not, strictly speaking, a colony, examining its rise and fall can deepen our understanding of the conditions that promoted or curtailed the longevity of New World English settlements. In some senses, the odds were in Lygonia's favor. Unlike Providence Island, or even Massachusetts Bay, it was established by men who had years of firsthand New World experience. Furthermore, the settlers of Lygonia enjoyed at least limited rights to participate in their local government. However, in his capacity as Lygonia's deputy president, George Cleeve failed to take into account the ways in which the constitution of authority was evolving in mid seventeenth-century New England. As circumstances changed, Cleeve's approach to Lygonia's governance proved inadequate, and before long, the province foundered.