It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the census , New Bedford had a population of ,, making it the state's ninth-largest city and the largest of the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Indians. English colonists bought the land on which New Bedford would later be built from the Wampanoag in , and the original colonial settlement that would later become the city was founded by English Quakers in the late 17th century.
The town of New Bedford itself was officially incorporated in During the first half of the 19th century, New Bedford was one of the world's most important whaling ports. New Bedford was also a center of abolitionism at this time.
The city attracted many freed or escaped African-American slaves, including Frederick Douglass , who lived there from until New Bedford remains known for its fishing fleet and accompanying seafood industry, which as of generated the highest annual value of any fishing port in the United States.
The city is also known for its high concentration of Portuguese Americans. Before the 17th century, the lands along the Acushnet River were inhabited by the Wampanoag Native Americans, who had settlements throughout southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Their population is believed to have been about 12, From there, he explored Cape Cod and the neighboring areas, including the site of present-day New Bedford. Gosnold left and settled in the Jamestown Colony of Virginia.
At first, the Old Dartmouth territory was devoid of major town centers, and instead had isolated farms and small, decentralized villages, such as Russells' Mills. At this time, the economy primarily ran on agriculture and fishing. The availability of land attracted many Quakers and Baptists from Newport and Portsmouth in Rhode Island , as well as more waves of Puritan migration. The rising European population and increasing demand for land led the colonists' relationship with the indigenous inhabitants of New England to deteriorate.
