Episode Details

In this episode, we explore the radical history of steady habits. Welcome to the show, everyone. I'm your host. And today we are going on a really fascinating deep dive. Hey there. I'm so excited to be here as your resident historian to, you know, help unpack all this source material. And we are thrilled you, the listener, are joining us today because, well, if you look at a map today, Connecticut is it's basically a polite, sleepy. commuter suburb for New York City, right? Yeah, pretty much. You picture these quaint, coastal towns, maybe some hedge fund offices, and definitely a lot of traffic on Interstate 95. Oh, for sure. Just a general vibe of people who like to go to bed early. I mean, the state's historical nickname is literally the land of steady habits. It sounds completely safe. entirely predictable. It does. It creates this illusion of a place where history happened, like very politely, mostly involving town They were financially ruined. And this arrogant, independent colony was eventually forced into a hostile takeover by the stronger, more pragmatic Connecticut colony to the north. Which brings us to the most audacious part of Connecticut's early history. Once they absorb New Haven, Connecticut develops this fierce, almost imperial independence. Totally. In 1662, they manage to get a royal charter from the King of England, granting them official self -government. But the boundaries in this charter are legally insane. It explicitly says Connecticut's western boundary is the South Sea. Which meant the Pacific Ocean. Wait, the Pacific? This tiny slice of New England claimed its land stretched across the entire North American continent. Yep. And they took that geographical loophole completely seriously. They used a literal interpretation of a deeply flawed royal charter to try and build a mini -empire. And they protected that charter with their lives. In 1687,