If English settlers had their way, New England baked beans would have been made with peas.
But the pea seeds they packed originally to make stew with salted meat wouldn’t grow in the new environment, so indigenous beans became the replacement. The Puritans were not allowed to cook after sundown on the Sabbath, so beans were cooked all day on Saturday so they could be eaten that evening and into Sunday. Savory baked beans were common until the mid 1800s when molasses began to be added, and that version has since taken hold as the classic New England recipe.