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Oct 12, 1492
•Columbus "discovers" America
Even though Columbus will always be known as the discoverer of America to most people, more and more scientists support the idea that the first European to reach the New World was Leif Eriksson who went from Iceland to North America in the eleventh century. -
Jamestown Colony created
The Virginia Company explorers landed on Jamestown Island to start the Virginia English colony on the banks of the James River. They landed there because the deep water channel let their ships ride close to shore. -
Plymouth Colony created
The Plymouth Colony was founded by the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in December, 1620. Many of the 102 passengers who sailed from England aboard the Mayflower died. The survivors formed the Plymouth Colony. They faced great hardship but made friends with neighboring Native Americans. Among the leaders of the Plymouth Colony were William Bradford, John Carver, William Brewster, and Miles Standish. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony created
On June 12, 1630, the ship of the Massachusetts Bay Company arrived in Salem to officially find the new colony. The company was founded by English Puritans. Most of them were educated and wealthy. A fleet of eleven ships brought hundreds of settlers to Salem. John Winthrop became the first governor of the colony. -
New Amsterdam becomes New York
The colony was surrendered to the English on 24 September 1664, and renamed New York. When the Dutch retook control briefly in 1673, they renamed it New Orange, but ceded it permanently to England after the signing of the Treaty of Westminster in 1674. -
William Penn creates Pennsylvania
William Penn founded Pennsylvania with a land grant that was owed his deceased Father. His goal was to create a colony that allowed for freedom of religion due to his desire to protect himself and fellow Quakers from persecution. -
Albany Congress meets
In an attempt to resolve two pressing problems in the Ohio Valley of the American Colonies, the English Board of Trade had called a Congress of the New England Colonies. Twenty-three delegates would meet in Albany, New York from June 19 to July 11, 1754.While on his way to this Congress as a delegate for Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin would write the Albany Plan of Union. This plan would in effect, unite the Colonies into one government. -
George Washington assaults Fort Duquesne
The Battle of Fort Duquesne, which took place on September 14, 1758, was a failed attempt by elements of General John Forbes's British-American army to make a military inspection of Fort Duquesne in the Ohio Valley during the French and Indian War. Forbes commanded between 6,000 and 8,000 men, including a contingent of Virginians led by George Washington -
The French & Indian War concludes
The War officially came to an end on February 10, 1763, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. France officially ceded all of its holdings in North America, west of the Mississippi; while regaining the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.The most long lasting effect of the war was not negotiated between the parties? rather, it was the effect the war had on the American colonies.
