shire and Rhode Islandâ€""which had been founded
             primarily by groups of religious dissenters, such as the Puritans who
             sought to establish a theocracy free of the burdens of the decadent English
             church" (Bicheno, 156). These colonies were characterized mostly by farming
             and to some degree were organized around small villages that produced
             foodstuffs and other commodities. Along the coastline, fishing dominated
             economic life, along with shipping and smuggling. The thriving city of
             Boston was the economic and cultural center of New England and proved to be
             the first center of revolt for the American Revolution.
             As was the case with nearly all of the colonies, New England had
             passed through a long series of changes in the form of government during
             the 17th century and first decades of the 18th c
             ...