, Connecticut, USA
1687 - King James revoked charter, took colonists' legal rights; Charter Oak incident occurred

The Charter Oak incident took place in 1687 in Hartford, Connecticut, during a period of political upheaval in the American colonies. The English Crown, under King James II, sought to consolidate control over the colonies by revoking their charters and imposing direct royal governance. Connecticut was one of the colonies resisting this move. Sir Edmund Andros, appointed as the governor of the Dominion of New England, was sent to enforce the new order and confiscate the Connecticut Charter, a document granting the colony a degree of self-governance.

As the legend goes, during a meeting with Andros on the night of October 31, 1687, the Connecticut colonists, determined to protect their autonomy, took a daring step. In the midst of heated negotiations, the lights in the meeting room were suddenly extinguished, and the charter disappeared. It was later revealed that Captain Joseph Wadsworth had spirited the document away and hidden it inside the hollow of a massive white oak tree, which came to be known as the Charter Oak. This act of defiance became a symbol of colonial resistance against royal overreach and has been celebrated as a pivotal moment in the fight for self-governance in the American colonies.

www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ usstates/ cttimeln.htm

Visit Connecticut, USA
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.