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In present-day Arizona and New Mexico, members of the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church establish missions in Hopi and other tribal areas under charter from the King of Spain.
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American Indian Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala (Quechua) illustrates his 1,189-page book, El primer nueva corónica, y buen gobierno.
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Three ships led by Captain Christopher Newport arrived at Cape Henry on the Virginia coast after five months of sailing at sea. Susan Constant, Discovery and Godspeed later traveled 40 miles up the James River until they stopped on Jamestown Island.
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The three ships land in Jamestown, establishing the first English settlement in the United States. There are 103 settlers among them. Upon arrival, Captain John Smith is named to the governing council.
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Samuel Champlain battles an Iroquois party after his further exploration of the New World discovers Lake Champlain in early July and claims Vermont for the Kingdom of France.
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enry Hudson, working for the Dutch, sails into New York harbor and up the river that would bear his name to Albany.
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The history of Jamestown continues with the marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe, who would bring tobacco seeds to the colony and begin its harvesting this year. Their marriage led to eight years of peace among the colonists and Indians.
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Smallpox epidemic wipes out 90% of the Native Americans in the Massachusetts Bay area.
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First representative assembly, the House of Burgesses, held in America is elected in Jamestown. The next month, the Dutch land with indentured servants, African slaves, in Jamestown.
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A landing party searches the coast for a suitable site for a settlement and start to move the entire party to Plymouth Harbor. Plymouth Rock was identified as the first solid land the Pilgrims set foot on.
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The first Thanksgiving celebration is held in the autumn for three days between the Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe, who had helped them settle and plant the colony's land.
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The Indian Massacre of 1622 occurs when Chief Opchanacanough and the Powhatan Confederacy tried to rid the colony of settlers. One third of the colony at the time, three hundred people, were killed.
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In the area of New Mexico, on Navajo land, warriors of the Jemez Apache tribe war against Spaniards and Tiwas.
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Maryland is founded as a Catholic colony promoting religious tolerance. The subsequent state is named for Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of England's Charles I.
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Harvard College is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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The constitution of the General Assembly of Rhode Island is drafted, under the values of separating church and state, as well as permitting public referendums and initiatives in legislation.
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Slavery is legalized in Connecticut and recognized in the American colonies.
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Peach Tree War begins with attack on New Amsterdam and Pavonia along Hudson (North) River by Susquehannock Indians and their allies as retaliation for the loss of New Sweden to the Dutch. Indian victory forced many Dutch settlers back to Fort Amsterdam.
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The Navigation act is passed by British Parliament to control colonial commerce in the New World.
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The Indian War, King Philip's War, between the Confederation of New England tribes and the colonists in New England ends.
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The colony of Pennsylvania is established when William Penn signs a treaty with the Delaware Indians and pays for Pennsylvania lands.
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The Plymouth colony, which had remained independent since its founding in 1620, joins the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
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Additional French settlements would be established in Mississippi and Louisiana.