Connecticut. A state of the northeast United States. It was admitted as one of the original Thirteen Colonies on 9 January 1788. Connecticut's coastline was explored by Dutch navigators after 1614, and in 1635 colonists from Massachusetts Bay began to settle in the Connecticut River valley. The Fundamental Orders, a constitution based on the consent of the governed, was adopted by the colony in 1639. Hartford is the capital and Bridgeport the largest city.
