<P> According to archaeological evidence, the indigenous people of the warmer parts of Southern New England had started agricultural endeavors over a thousand years ago . They grew corn, tobacco, kidney beans, squash, and Jerusalem artichoke . Trade with the Algonquian peoples of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, where the growing season was shorter, likely provided for a robust economy . </P> <P> As early as 1600, French, Dutch, and English traders, exploring the New World, began to trade metal, glass, and cloth for local beaver pelts . The traders and sailors brought previously unknown European diseases, especially smallpox, measles, malaria, and yellow fever, which quickly spread along trade routes and killed a majority of the Native Americans in the region by the 1630s . </P> <P> On April 10, 1606, King James I of England issued two charters, one each for the Virginia Companies, of London and Plymouth, respectively . Due to a duplication of territory (between Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound), the two companies were required to maintain a separation of 100 miles (160 km), even where the two charters overlapped . The London Company was authorized to make settlements from North Carolina to New York (31 to 41 degrees North Latitude), provided there was no conflict with the Plymouth Company's charter . The purpose of both was to claim land for England and trade . </P> <Ul> <Li> Under the charters, the territory allocated was defined as follows: </Li> </Ul>

Near what geographic feature were most of the early settlements in new england started