General Court is reorganized.

The second elected legislature in the Colonies after that in Virginia (est. 1619), it is made up of a Court of Assistants or Magistrates (renamed the Council in 1692 and the Senate in 1780) and a Court of Deputies (renamed the House of Representatives in 1691 [1780]). Thomas O’Connor subsequently writes, “This development marked the complete transition of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from a mere overseas trading company to a bona fide commonwealth in its own right.” The two chambers meet together, initially, then separately beginning in 1644.*