A state of the northeast United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies, it was the site of the first successful English settlement in New England when the Pilgrims of the Mayflower founded Plymouth in 1620. Governed by the Massachusetts Bay Company from 1629 until 1684, the colony was a leader in the move for independence from Great Britain and the site of the first battles of the Revolutionary War in 1775. Massachusetts ratified the United States Constitution in 1788. Boston is the capital and the largest city.