Culture of New England Connecticut, and rural New Englanders in western Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, where population density is low. The creative economy also plays an important role in the larger economy of New England. In 2002, there were nearly 275,000 workers in the region engaged in cultural enterprises, with nearly half in Massachusetts alone. As a percentage of the workforce compared to other US states, Massachusetts ranks first for architects, Connecticut ranks third for producers and directors, Maine ranks fourth for visual artists, New Hampshire ranks eleventh for writers, Rhode Island ranks first for photographers, and Vermont ranks third for visual
New England Penobscot River in Maine. The Narragansetts and smaller tribes under their sovereignty lived in Rhode Island, west of Narragansett Bay, including Block Island. The Wampanoag occupied southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The Pocumtucks lived in Western Massachusetts, and the Mohegan and Pequot tribes lived in the Connecticut region. The Connecticut River Valley linked numerous tribes culturally, linguistically, and politically. As early as 1600, French, Dutch, and English traders began exploring the New World, trading metal, glass, and cloth for local beaver pelts. On April 10, 1606, King James I of England issued a