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Period: Jan 1, 1511 to
colonizing America
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Jan 2, 1511
The Conquering of Cuba
In 1511 Hernan Cortes was merely a soldier in the invasion of Cuba. His commander, Diego Velazquez, was impressed by Cortes’ courage in battle. He rewarded Cortes by giving him control of a few Native American villages. 6 years afterwards, Smallpox swept over Cuba, killing thousands of Natives, as they were not resistant to the disease brought from the Spanish Empire. They were running out of workers. -
Apr 24, 1519
Cortes Arives on the Coast of Mexico
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Aug 25, 1524
The French Explore Early America
Three years after the conquering of the Aztec, King Francis I of France sent an explorer by the name of Giovanni da Verrazano to find the Norhtwest passage. Giovanni mapped a large area of the coatline, but did not find the Northwest passage. Ten years afterwards, King Francis sent another explorer by the name of Jacques Cartier to North America. He mapped the St. Lawrence River, and planned to found a colony in 1541, but returned on account of the harsh winters. -
Apr 5, 1526
Pizarro Invades The Inca.
At about the same time as the Spanish were fighting for Central America, another Spanish military captain by the name of Francisco Pizzaro was exploring the West coast of South America. He encountered the Incan empire when he landed in Peru, in 1526. He got the permission of the Spanish king to invade the Inca, so he returned to Peru with a small militant force. He planned on giving their Emperor a chance to surrender before attacking, so he surrounded a small village with hidden cavalry and ca -
King James Sets the Stage for Departure
In 1603 James I took throne in England. Although he was protestant he disagreed with the protestant belief that the congregation should choose who leads the church in the form of elders and ministers. James I would not budge on the structure of the Anglican Church and because the King had full control over both the church and the kingdom he took the above mentioned belief as a challenge to his royal power. Because James I refused to change his belief many protestants were willing to leave Eng -
James Town Is Founded.
Jamestown Video
In 1604 a group of English investors, the Virginia Company, sent a petition to King James I to put settlements in Virginia. In 1606 James I approved the petition. The Virginia Company sent out 3 ships, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. After a difficult trip the 144 male settlers landed near a river and started to settle. They named the Settlement after King James. -
The House of Burgesses is established
In Jamestown, Virginia the first elected assembly met in a church to discuss the laws that they wished to abide by. Each of the 10 Virginia settlements sent 2 elected officials, the governor, and his 6 counselors to the Burgesses. The colonist met for 5 days, making laws that ranged from swearing to excess in dress. This event was the first time the colonists had any say the the colonial government. -
The Mayflower Makes its Voyage
Mayflower SongPilgrims boarded the Mayflower with hopes of crossing the Atlantic. The trip lasted a bit longer than two months. Over the time that the voyage was underway, they ran out of food, many of the passengers became sick, and one passenger even died. Yet finally, in early November, they saw Cape Cod. They weren't quite where they wanted to be, but they were not lost, either. They had a map from an earlier explorer, named John Smith. They decided to head to what the map called "Plymouth". -
Roger Williams Leading Up to Providence
Roger Williams went to Boston in 1631, where they offered him a teaching position. Williams refused. He was a very strict Separatist. He became a teacher in Salem. People did not like him condemning the Puritan Churches, so he went to Plymouth. He believed that Plymouth belonged to Native Americans, which was directly defying the king. Williams returned to Massachusetts in 1633, where he was still condemning Puritans. He was thrown out of the colony. He went South, and founded Providence. -
Maryland is Founded
George Calvert, or Lord Baltimore, was a member of parliament until he was converted to catholicism. England was largely protestant, so he was largely unaccepted by the populace. He was very good friend with King Charles, so in 1632 King Charles gave him land in the new world. Calvert named the land Maryland. Baltimore owned Mayland making it Englands first proprietary colony. In 1634, 20 gentlemen and 200 servants moved to Maryland, sadly Calvert died before he could make the journey. -
Anne Hutchinson Gets Banished
While Roger Williams was angering many Puritans, there was a woman arriving in Boston. Her name was Anne Hutchinson. She was a well liked, and intelligent Puritan. She began having prayer meetings in her home. As people began to follow her more, she claimed to know which ministers truly had God's salvation. She was directly attacking her leader's authority. The General Court charged her of heresy. They asked why she was commiting heresy. She told them that God had told her to. They banished her. -
The English Civil war and the Colonies
Beginning in 1642 the English Civil war between Parliament and King Charles I, largely slowed the colonization of America. Many Protestants who were in favor of Parliament, returned to England to help with the fighting. The CIvil war also split the colonies. Maryland participated in its own mini civil war with the governing party siding with the King but the large populace siding with Parliament. Things were calmed down when a Protestant governor was appointed and the Maryland Toleration Act. -
Colonizing New York
Up until 1664 the dutch controlled the area that is now known as New York, but in 1664 under rule of Charles the II the english seized control of the area. King Charles gave all of the newly acquired land to his brother, James. James was the Duke of York. James later split his new colony and gave parts of it to the king's advisors Sir George Carteret, and Lord John Berkeley. -
Settling the Carolinas
King Charles was very interested in the area south of Virginia so he gave it to 8 of his trusted advisors, they named the land Carolina which is latin for Charles. North Carolina developed slowly,until they started growing tobacco and deporting things used to build ships like tar, pitch, and turpentine. South Carolina was originally used to grow sugar cane until it was deemed unsuitable so they started shipping out natives as slaves. -
Colonizing Pennsylvania
King Charles II and Admiral William Penn were close friends, Penn loaned ships, money, and other resources to the Charles. The King owed him a great debt, so when Admiral William Penn died, his son also named William Penn asked for a colony to repay the debt. Penn wanted a colony for his religion the Quakers. The Quakers had faced persecution in almost every other colony until they acquired Pennsylvania, where every religion was tolerated. -
Settling of Georgia
In 1720 General James Oglethorpe noticed that many people were in prison because of their debt. In response to this finding he asked the king (King George II) if he could start a colony for debtors to just start over. The king agreed in 1732, and Oglethorpe went with the first group of settlers in 1733.
