The Charter Oak 



FIVE of the American colonies Connecticut, 

 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and 

 Virginia were settled under charter grants 

 made directly to the colonists by the king of 

 England. These charters set forth the rights and 

 liberties of the colonists, and so were worth a 

 great deal to them. Without their charters they 

 might be treated unfairly by the English king 

 across the seas. 



In the year 1 686 the king appointed Sir Edmund 



219 



