-
English Land in Jamestown
The Virginia Company set out to establish a colony for profit, but the location they chose was poor; although no Native Americans lived there, it had terrible soil and water, leading to disease and starvation (Bonuso et. al, 2018). John Smith took command of the colony, attempting to get the settlers (who were just there to make a quick fortune) to work (Bonuso et. al, 2018). The colony was only saved by local natives and tobacco (Bonuso et. al, 2018; "Old Church," 1902). -
The First Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving was a feast that lasted several days, thrown to celebrate the friendships between the settlers at Plymouth and the Wampanoag tribe (Ferris, 1932). -
The First African Slaves in North America Land in New Amsterdam
The Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (now known as New York City) was in dire need of labor, so the Dutch West India company brought slaves over from Africa (Bonuso, 2018). This was just the beginning of what would grow to a long and horrifying practice ("New Amsterdam," ca. 1900). -
Massachusetts Bay Charter
King Charles I granted a charter to settle in Massachusetts to the New England Company, which was run by a group of Puritans ("Massachusetts Bay," 1986). They moved to the area, taking the charter with them and establishing something of an independent self-rule, despite being under England ("Massachusetts Bay," 1986; "Unveiling Tablet," 1907). -
John Winthrop's "City on a Hill"
John Winthrop gave this famous speech as a sermon on board a ship headed to the colonies. He exhorted his listeners to think of themselves as an example for how the rest of the world should act, saying that a failure to live as God had commanded would cause them to become a "story and a by-word through the world" (Winthrop, 1630; Harris, 1806). -
Period: to
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a conflict between King Charles I and parliament that led to war and eventually the establishment of England as a republic under Oliver Cromwell (Ablavsky, 2018). Although the American colonies attempted to remain neutral, the new administration implemented tighter regulations on them (Ablavsky, 2018). -
Period: to
Christmas Banned in Boston
For a time, Christmas was outlawed in Boston, with a fine for anyone caught celebrating it in any way (Mariott, 1967). To quote americanheritage.com, "This decree was passed more than a generation after the landing of the Pilgrims, but it was merely a legal expression of the attitude they brought with them on the Mayflower" (Mariott, 1967). The ban was eventually repealed in 1681 by the king for consistency with the laws of England (Mariott, 1967). -
Virginia Slave Laws
Virginia passed a law in 1662 stating that children of slaves inherit the "condition" of their mothers; similar laws followed distinguishing the labor of white and African women (Ablavksy, 2018). These laws were soon adopted by other colonies, and their advent showed a new division between white and black people that had not been there before combined with a racial justification for slavery (Ablavksy, 2018; Hole & Smith, 1624). -
Period: to
"King Philip's War"
Also known as the Great Narragansett War, it saw the tensions between Native Americans and English settlers break out into violent conflict across New England ("King Philip's War," 2017). The Native Americans, led by Metacom, son of Massasoit and known as King Philip, were eventually defeated, losing lives and land to the white settlers ("King Philip's War," 2017). -
Puebloanian Rebellion
The Puebloan were a native tribe who lived in current-day New Mexico (Ablavsky et. al, 2018). Headed by Popé, a religious leader, they successfully rebelled against their Spanish conquerors for twelve years (Ablavsky et. al, 2018; Highsmith, 2015). -
The Glorious Revolution
A bloodless coup that saw the transfer of the English throne from King James II to Dutch Prince William of Holland and his wife Mary (James II's daughter) (Ablavsky, 2018; Glorious Revolution, 2018). -
References (Part 1)
Detroit Publishing Co, C. C. & Detroit Publishing Co, P., Jackson,
W. H., photographer. (ca. 1902) Old Church, Jamestown, Va.
Jamestown. United States Virginia, ca. 1902. [Photograph]
Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
https://www.loc.gov/item/2016800356/. -
References (Part 2)
Detroit Publishing Co, P. Unveiling tablet commemorating first
settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Gloucester, Mass.
Gloucester Gloucester. Massachusetts United States, None.
[Between 1907 and 1910] [Photograph] Retrieved from the
Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2016809831/. -
References (Part 4)
Glorious Revolution. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Glorious-Revolution
Gregory Ablavsky et al., “British North America,” Daniel Johnson,
ed., in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright
(Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018).
Harris, S. (1806) John Winthrop / S. Harris sc. , 1806. [Photograph]
Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
https://www.loc.gov/item/99472354/. -
References (Part 5)
Highsmith, C. M., photographer. (2015) Black-and-white images of
cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park in Montezuma County,
Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved ancestral
Puebloan archeological sites in the United States. Colorado
Montezuma County Montezuma County. United States, 2015.
-09-28. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
https://www.loc.gov/item/2017686589/. -
References (Part 7)
King Philip Metacomet, Sachem of the Wampanoags, d. , full-
length, standing, facing right; with gun. Amer. Wampanoag Indian
chief. [No Date Recorded on Caption Card] [Photograph]
Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
https://www.loc.gov/item/2005684825/.
King Philip's War. (2017). Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Glorious-Revolution -
References (Part 8)
Mariott, D. (1967). When Christmas was Banned in Boston.
American Heritage, (Volume 19, Issue 1). Retrieved from
https://www.americanheritage.com/content/when-christmas-
was-banned-boston -
References (Part 9)
"Massachusetts Bay, Colonial Charters of (1629, 1691)."
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Retrieved
November 16, 2018 from Encyclopedia.com:
https://www.encyclopedia.com/politics/encyclopedias-
almanacs-transcripts-andmaps/massachusetts-bay-colonial-
charters-1629-1691
(ca. 1900) New Amsterdam. , ca. 1900. [Photograph] Retrieved
from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov
/item/2007681679/. -
References (Part 3)
Erin Bonuso et al., “Colliding Cultures,” Ben Wright and Joseph L.
Locke, eds., in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph L. Locke and
Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018).
Ferris, J. L. G. (ca. 1932) The first Thanksgiving/ J.L.G. Ferris.
Massachusetts, ca. 1932. Cleveland, Ohio: The Foundation
Press, Inc. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
https://www.loc.gov/item/2001699850/. -
References (Part 6)
Hole, W. & Smith, J. (1624) Map of Virginia / discovered and
discribed [sic] by Captain John Smith. William Hole. Chesapeake
Bay Maryland Virginia, 1624. [Photograph] Retrieved from the
Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2001695744/.
John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity,” in A Library of
American Literature: Early Colonial Literature, 1607-1675,
Edmund Clarence Stedman and Ellen Mackay Hutchinson, eds.
(New York: 1892), 304-307.
