Massachusetts: Polity Style: 1689-1776

18/28 Apr 1689	the government of the Territory and Dominion of New England effectively collapsed following the insurrection in Boston on 18/28 Apr 1689 (Byfield's Account of the Revolution in New England, pp. 5-10)
7/17 Jun 1689	the government under the Charter of 1629 is resumed upon the installation of Governor and Lieutenant Governor at the meeting of an assemby of representatives on 7/17 Jun 1689 in Boston (Notes on the Massachusetts Royal Commissions, pp. 25-26; Massachusetts Documents 1689-1692, pp. 90-91)
7/17 Jun 1689 - 16/26 May 1692	Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England
16/26 May 1692	the colonies of the Massachusetts Bay and New Plymouth, the Province of Maine, and the territory known as Accadia or Nova Scotia are united and incorporated into a province under the name of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, in accordance with letters patent (charter) issued by command of the King of England on 7/17 Oct 1691, which is read and published at the meeting of the Council in Boston on 16/26 May 1692 (Massachusetts Acts and Resolves, 1:1-20; Notes on the Massachusetts Royal Commissions, p. 45)
16/26 May 1692 - 18 Jul 1776	Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England :: Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England [1]
1 Jun 1776	the exercise of authority in the name of the King of Great Britain ceased, government is to be carried out in the name of the "Government and People of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England", in accordance with an act passed by the Great and General Court or Assembly (House of Represenatatives on 1 May 1776, concurred in by the Council on 1 May 1776, effective on 1 Jun 1776) (Massachusetts Acts and Resolves, 5:484-485; Massachusetts Session Laws, 1775-1776, c. XII, pp. 49-50; American Archives, ser. 4, 5:1301; Massachusetts House Journal, 1776, p. 229, error for p. 209) [2]
4 Jul 1776	the British colonies represented in the Continental Congress are proclaimed free and independent states in accordance with a declaration approved at the session of the Congress held on 4 Jul 1776 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Continental Congress Journals, 5:510-515; The Pennsylvania Evening Post, No. 228, 6 Jul 1776, pp. 335-336)
18 Jul 1776	the Declaration of Independence approved by the Continental Congress is proclaimed at a public ceremony in Boston (Boston Gazette, No. 1105, 22 Jul 1776, p. 3; Massachusetts Acts and Resolves, 5:651-653) [3]

The Provincial Congress approved the form of military commissions (1 May 1775) to be issued by the authority of "The Congress of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay" (Massachusetts Provincial Congress 1774-1775, pp. 174-175).
Full title: An Act for establishing the Stile of Commissions which shall hereafter be issued, and for altering the Stile of Writs, Processes, and all Law Proceedings within this Colony; and for directing how Recognizances to the Use of this Government, shall for the future be taken and prosecuted.
After the public proclamation of independence (18 Jul 1776), the word "state" in the polity style was substituted for "colony", although no formal act was passed to that effect. A motion to determine which word should be used in the proceedings failed on 10 Sep 1776. In the session of 7 Dec 1776, the House of Representatives "Ordered, That the words "State of Massachusetts-Bay," be inserted on the top of all acts and resolves that shall hereafter pass this Court." (Massachusetts House Journal, 1776-1777, pp. 97, 189)