New Hampshire: Children's American Local History Book

Most people in the state are of European descent. The earliest colonists were from England and Scotland, and the country's first colonies were established in 1775. The state became a Royal Colony, with its own constitution asserting the right to revolution. Initially, the colonists made their living by fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding. Whale oil was a valuable resource because it could be used as fuel in lamps. Land was scarce, and farming was difficult, but by the 1850s there were permanent classes: day laborers, mariners, and indentured servants.