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John White returns to Roanoke
After helping establish the first English settlement on the Island of Roanoke, John White went back to England for supplies. Delayed by war for three years, he comes back to find out that the colonists disappeared! The word "Croatoan" was carved on a nearby tree. No one knows what happened to them. -
Virginia becomes the first colony
Virginia is founded under a patent for the London Company and becomes the first British colony in North America. Jamestown, Virginia is the first permanent English settlement. -
Massachusetts is founded
The King of England lets a group of Puritans make a colony along the Massachusetts Bay. The Puritans form the colony of Massachusetts as a place to spread their religion and extend the empire of Great Britain. -
New Hampshire is founded
New Hampshire is created as a fishing colony by Captain John Mason. It is named for Hampshire County in England. -
Lord Baltimore founds the colony of Maryland
The first colonists from England to arrive on the western shore of Maryland call it St. Mary's. George Calvert, the first Lord of Baltimore, is acting under a royal charter to create a colony to serve as a refuge for Catholics. -
Puritans establish the colony of Connecticut
Thomas Hooker and John Haynes of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establish River Colony, later called Connecticut. -
Rhode Island is founded by Roger Williams
After being kicked out of Massachusetts, Roger Williams lives with the Narragansett Indians. He makes Providence, which becomes the capital of Rhode Island. -
Delaware is founded by Peter Minuit
Peter Minuit establishes a colony called New Sweden. Minuit later is forced to give up the colony when King Charles II takes control of the area called "New Netherland" and tells him to give it to his brother James, the Duke of York. James renames New Sweden Delaware. -
A group of Virginians establishes Carolina
Eight noblemen from Virginia create a settlement south of Virginia. They call it Carolina, then later it is divided into North Carolina and South Carolina when the crown takes control of the colony in 1729. -
The Duke of York establishes New York
With the Duke of York in control of the former Dutch trading post, he renames it New York. -
Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret found New Jersey
James, the Duke of York, gives land from New Netherland to his friends Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. They call the colony New Jersey and say it is a place of religious freedom. -
Pennsylvania is established by William Penn
William Penn creates a colony to serve as a refuge for Quakers. By 1700, it grows to be the third largest colony in the New World. -
James Oglethorpe establishes the colony of Georgia
James Oglethorpe establishes a colony called Georgia. Georgia is created to act as a barrier between Spain, which owns Florida, and the British colonies. It is also intended to provide a place for those recently released from debtors prison to have a fresh start. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre is where a mob of American citizens and British Soldiers fought. The Americans threw snowballs, stakes and rocks at the British. The British threw objects back. After a while, the British got their muskets ready, and fired into the crowd. There were 5 deaths during this shooting. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was created because the people were upset about King George's tax on tea. So they dressed like Indians, and they went aboard the three ships full of tea, and dumped all of the crates until none was left. About $13,000 or tea was wasted into the sea. -
The colonies declare their independence from England
With the signing of the Declaration of Independence, all of the colonies of America declared their independence from England. Independence was won through the Revolutionary War and the colonies became the United States of America.
