Connecticut is located in the north-east of the United States and belongs to the New England region. Its neighbors are: Rhode Island in the east, Massachusetts in the north and New York in the west and south (various islands of New York are located on Connecticut's entire coast).
Connecticut's official nickname is "The Constitution State" and was officially accepted in 1959. It is based on its colonial constitution of 1638-1639 which led to its selection as the first state to ratify the federal constitution. Another - but inofficial - nickname is "The Nutmeg State". It is not known where that name comes from, but it may come from the sailors who returned from voyages and brought nutmeg with them (in the 18th and 19th centuries it was a very valuable spice).
Connecticut is the 29th populous state with approximately 3.4 million inhabitants. This state has a long history, going back to the early colonial times and with a great influence of the federal government.
The first European settlers who came to Connecticut were Dutch people. Adriaen Block was the first explorer in that region in 1614. After that Dutch fur traders sailed up the Connecticut River and built a fort at Dutch Point near what is today Hardford. This Dutch Point was called "House of Hope" (Dutch: Huis van Hoop).
A couple years later, in 1635, John Winthrop received the permission to build up the "Saybrook Colony" at the Connecticut River. This was one of three colonies which later combined to make up Connecticut. In 1644, the Saybrook Colony merged itself into the Connecticut Colony.
The first English settlers came in 1633 and settled at Windsor and then Wethersfield in 1634. But the main settlers came in one large group in 1636 and were led by Thomas Hooker. He was very famous in England as a professor at Cambridge and political writer. He broke his political leadership in Massachusetts and established the Connecticut Island at Hartford in 1636.
The third colony "New Haven Colony" (also called Ouinnipiack Colony), was founded by John Davenport, Theophilus Eaton and others at New Haven in 1638. This colony had its own constitution "The Fundamental Agreement of the New Haven Colony" which was signed on June 4th, 1639.
The colonies were presumptively English, but in legal sense, they were only secessionist outposts of Massachusetts Bay. The colonies of Connecticut and Quinnipiack were united.
Due to the long coastline, Connecticut has a temperate climate. In the inner state you will find a humid continental climate, while the Connecticut shoreline has a humid and subtropical climate.
Connecticut has a lot to offer. It is easy to reach from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and eastern Pennsylvania. In Hartford you can visit many historic buildings such as the Old State House, the Mark Twain house and the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks. On the shoreline, the coastal region, you can enjoy a lot of outdoor and fun activities: the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, the Hammonasset Beach State Park with miles of sandy beaches and the Thimble Islands.