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In 1585, Queen Elizabeth allowed Raleigh to send over 100 men from England to Roanoke Island (off the coast of North Carolina) after two of his explorers found it to be a perfect place for a settlement. However, they were not friendly with the native people in that area and Raleigh's men even killed their chief. Since the explorers arrived too late to harvest crops and their supplies were dwindling , they went back home a year later. After they left, fifteen other men showed up. -
In 1607, the first of 13 colonies, Virginia, was colonized. -
In 1609, Captain Smith returned to England after an injury, and Pocahontas stopped visiting the settlement. Then the relations between the Powhatan nation and the settlers weakened -
Four years later, Pocahontas was lured back and kidnapped. She was held for ransom, since her father had captured some of the settlers and weapons. The settlers moved Pocahontas to another settlement and forced her to convert to Christianity. That is wear she met John Rolfe and married him in 1614. -
in 1619, the first elected assembly was established in Jamestown. It was called the House of Burgesses. -
In 1620, Oceanus Hopkins was born on the Mayflower. He was named Oceanus (Latin for ocean) because he was born on the Atlantic Ocean. -
In 1621, Squanto showed up and spoke English. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to hunt local animals, gather shellfish, extract sap from maple trees, and grow crops like beans, corn and squash. -
In 1681, King Charles II gives William Penn land in the New World that was southwest of New Jersey. He did this because King Charles II owed William Penn's father from a prior loan. William thought that he would name it Sylvania which means "woods" but later he called it Pennsylvania. -
The Middle Colonies were New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. This "middle zone" was truly in the middle of the 13 colonies. The Middle Colonies had some ship building, like New England, and large farms like the Southern plantations. They also have rivers, forests, rich farmlands, and fertile soil. The Middle Colonies were most known for producing iron and being the "bread basket" colony. They produced wheat and used windmills to mill flour for bread. -
James Edward Oglethorpe found Georgia in 1732. Georgia was the last colony to be colonized.