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Establishment of the Virginia Company and Jamestown
In 1606, King James founded the Virginia Company and sent adventurers to colonize the New World, in hopes of gaining wealth. 1607 marked the foundation of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement. -
The "Noxious Weed"
After ten years of brutal suffering, Jamestown, at the point of extinction, sent its first cargo of tobacco to Europe. The "noxious weed" took the world by storm, and buoyed up Jamestown with fresh colonists, funds, and supplies. -
The Inception of Southern Slavery
The House of Burgess is formed. That same year, a Dutch ship sold twenty African slaves to the Jamestown slavery, beginning a bloody cycle of slavery that would continue for more than two centuries. -
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New England
The success of Jamestown following the death of the Powhatan tribe and the tobacco boom inspired more lofty-minded individuals to settle the New World. Primarily led by Puritans, the English established colonies in Plymouth (1620), Massachusetts Bay (1630), Conneticut (1636) and Rhode Island (1636). -
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Wars with the Natives
English encroachment on Native American lands sparked a series of bloody wars that resulted in heavy casualties and an abundance of native slaves. The Pequot War (1636–1637), Governor Kieft’s War (1641–1645), Esopus Wars (1659–1663), and King Philip’s War (1675–1676) were the major wars between settlers and natives. -
The Virginia Slave Law
A law in Virginia states that the child of a slave inherits the condition of his or her mother. This further cemented the slave trade in America for years to come. -
Foundation of New York
English wrest control of New Amsterdam, renaming it New York. -
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Bacon's Rebellion
Thomas Mathew, over the issue of natives taking some of his pigs, formed a rebellion against the natives. It quickly spiraled out of control and was finally stopped by the governor of Virginia, Berkeley.