1600-1700

  • Jamestown established

    In 1607, Jamestown, the first colony in the US was established in Virginia.
  • House of Burgesses

    The House of Burgesses first met in a church and along with the government they created the first laws for the colony. It was the first elected legislative body of colonial Virginia.
  • Arrival of Slavery

    The first known enslaved Africans were sold to Jamestown settlers.
  • Mayflower Compact

    The Mayflower Compact was the a document signed after the English shipped to Plymouth, Massachusetts, that was the first official frame of government written and established in what is now the United States.
  • Significance in Virginia

    The Virginia Company declared bankruptcy and Virginia made a royal colony.
  • Massachusetts Bay Colony

    The Massachusetts Bay Colony was one of the first English settlements in what is now Massachusetts. It was settled by almost a thousand Puritans from England under govenor John Winthrop.
  • First Proprietary Colony

    Owned by an individual rather than a monarch- Sir George Calvert.
  • Maryland Toleration Act

    The Maryland Toleration Act established religious freedoms to any Christian settlers regardless of denomination that settled in Massachusetts.
  • Bacon's Rebellion

    Bacon's Rebellion was a rebellion that lasted from 1676 to 1677. It was originally to unite slaves and indentured servants against the government which resulted in fighting. The government then established policies so that nothing like it would happen again.
  • Salem Witch Trials

    The Salem Witch Trials were a process of prosecutions and hearings in Massachusetts where people would accuse others of being a witch and they would then go to trial, and could have severe punishments for "being a witch."