Note 72 — Chapter IV

This was an union, says Mr. Trumbull, of the highest consequence to the New England colonies. It made them formidable to the Dutch and Indians, and respectable among their French neighbours. It was happily adapted to maintain harmony among themselves, and to secure the rights and peace of the country. It was one of the principal means of the preservation of the colonies, during the civil wars, and unsettled state of affairs in England. It was the great source of mutual defence in Philip's war; and of the most eminent service in civilising the Indians, and propagating the Gospel among them. The union subsisted more than forty years, until the abrogation of the charters of the New England colonies by King James II.