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55. The New England Confederation, 1643.
55．新英格蘭聯邦（1643年）
In 1640 the Long Parliament met in England, and in 1645 Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans destroyed the royal army in the battle of Naseby. In these troubled times England could do little to protect the New England colonists, and could do nothing to punish them for acting independently. The New England colonists were surrounded by foreigners. There were the French on the north and the east, and the Dutch on the west. The Indians, too, were living in their midst and might at any time turn on the whites and kill them. Thinking all these things over, the four leading colonies decided to join together for protection. They formed the New England Confederation, and drew up a constitution. The colonists living in Rhode Island and in Maine did not belong to the Confederation, but they enjoyed many of the benefits flowing from it; for it was quite certain that the Indians and the French and the Dutch would think twice before attacking any of the New England settlements.
除了已經描述過的那些移民，還有一些殖民者生活在新罕布什爾和緬因。馬薩諸塞將新罕布什爾的部分城鎮納入自己的轄區，因為這些城鎮中有一部分在它的掌控之下。1640年英格蘭的議會冗長未果，而1645年奧利弗·克倫威爾和清教徒在納斯比戰斗中打敗了皇家軍隊，在這個艱難時期，英格蘭能為保護新英格蘭殖民地居民所做的十分有限，甚至無力討伐獨立運動。新英格蘭殖民地居民被外國人所包圍，他們的北方和東方是法國人，西方是荷蘭人，而印第安人生活在殖民者聚居地，隨時可能與白人相遇并殺死白人?？紤]到這些，四個主要的殖民地決定聯合在一起自衛。他們組建新英格蘭聯邦，并制定一部憲法。生活在羅得島和緬因的殖民地居民不屬于這個聯邦，但是，他們從這個聯邦獲益匪淺，因為，毫無疑問，印第安人、法國人和荷蘭人要攻擊新英格蘭的居住地必須三思而后行。
56. Social Conditions.
56．社會條件
The New England colonies were all settled on the town system, for there were no industries which demanded large plantations—as tobacco-planting. The New Englanders were small farmers, mechanics, ship-builders, and fishermen. There were few servants in New England and almost no negro slaves. Most of the laborers were free men and worked for wages as laborers now do. Above all, the New Englanders were very zealous in the matter of education. Harvard College was founded in 1636. A few years later a law was passed compelling every town to provide schools for all the children in the town.
新英格蘭的殖民地居民都居住在這個城鎮網絡中，因為這里沒有那些需要大種植園（如煙草種植）的工業，新英格蘭人是一些小農、手工業者、造船者和漁夫。在新英格蘭沒有雇傭工，也幾乎沒有黑奴。多數勞動者是自由人，他們如今天的勞動者一樣為工資而勞動。尤其是新英格蘭人非常熱衷于教育。1636年，他們創建哈佛大學，幾年后他們通過一個法律強制所有的城鎮為鎮上的孩子建立學校。
