Plymouth made a firm stand for independence, although the weakest of the colonies.

The commissioners threatened to assume control.

It was the dawning strife of the new system against the old, of American politics against European politics, and yet those men struggling for liberty were called fanatics.
Secure in the support of a resolute minority, the Puritan commonwealth, in 1668, entered the province of Maine, and again established its authority by force of arms.

Great tumults ensued; many persons, opposed to what seemed a usurpation, were punished for "irreverent speeches." Some even reproached the authorities of Massachusetts "as traitors and rebels against the king"; but the usurpers made good their ascendancy till Gorges recovered his claims by adjudication in England.

From the southern limit of Massachusetts to the Quebec, the colonial government maintained its independent jurisdiction.
The defiance of Massachusetts was not punished as might have been expected.