-
Oct 31, 1517
Protestant Reformation.
German friar Martin Luther denounced the authority of the priests and popes when he nailed his protests against Catholic doctrines to the door of Wittenberg's cathedral. Thus began the Protestant Reformation as more people began to see the corruption within the Church. -
Nov 20, 1534
Break from the Catholic Church
The Act of Supremacy was passed which made King Henry VIII the head of the Church of England. This signified a break from the Catholic Church. In turn this launced the English Protestant Reformation and intensified the rivalry with Catholic Spain. -
Jamestown
The Virginia Company of London, which received a charter from King James I of England, landed in Jamestown. Of the 400 settlers who came to Virginia, only 60 survived the "starving winter". -
Anglo-Powhatan Wars
The first Anglo-Powhatan War began. Two other wars were fought in the following years. Each time the Powhatan Indians were defeated.The war's end ushered in 30 years of relative peace between the colonists and the Powhatan, shattered only by the attacks of Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. -
New Netherland
The Dutch West India Company established New Netherland in the Hudson River area. It was made for its quick-profit fur trade. -
Virginia Government
The House of Burgesses, a form of self-government in Virginia, first convened. As a result King James I made Virginia a colony of England, directly under his control, due to the fact that he did not trust the House of Burgesses. -
Pilgrims
Losing their identity as English, a group of Separatists in Holland came to America in search for religious freedom. The group settled outside the domain of the Virginia Company and, without legal permission, settled in Plymouth Bay. On this date they signed the Mayflower Compact. This was the first attempt at government in America and influenced all later attempts at self-government. -
Treaty with the Wampanoag.
The Wampanoag chieftain, Massasoit, signed a treaty with the Plymouth Pilgrims. The same year they helped the Pilgrims have the first Thanksgiving. This treaty lasted for nearly 50 years and was beneficial to both sides. -
Puritans and Massachusetts
Charles I dismissed Parliament and sanctioned the anti-Puritan persecutions of the reactionary Archbishop William Laud. As a result many non-separitist Puritans secured a royal charter to form the Massachusetts Bay Colony. -
Maryland
Maryland was formed by Lord Baltimore. Maryland was made for a refuge for the Catholics to escape the wrath of the Protestant English government. The Act of Toleration, which was passed in 1649 by the local representative group in Maryland, granted toleration to all Christians. -
New England Confederation
Four colines banded together to form the New England confederation. The confederation consisted of only Puritan colonies - two Massachusetts colonies (the Bay Colony and small Plymouth) and two Connecticut colonies (New Haven and the scattered valley settlements). Its primary purpose was to unite the Puritan colonies in support of the church, and for defense against the Native Americans and the Dutch colonies. It was established as a result of a war that started between Native Americans. -
Slave Code
The Barbados Slave Code was passed to deal with the large number of slaves. This denied the slaves fundamental rights. It marked the beginning of legal codification of slavery. -
Pennsylvania
William Penn managed to secure from King Charles II an immense grant of fertile land, in consideration of a monetary debt owed to his deceased father by the crown. The king called the area Pennsylvania. Because of William Penn being a Quaker, Pennsylvania's became inhabited by mostly Quakers. Many immigrants also came here for religious freedom. -
Dominion of New England
the Dominion of New England was created by royal authority. Unlike the homegrown New England Confederation, it was imposed from London. It embraced all of New England until in 1688 when it was expanded to New York and East and West Jersey. This lead to arguments regarding the governor. -
Carolina Indians
The Savannah Indians decided to end their alliance with the Carolinians and migrate to the back country of Maryland and Pennsylvania, where a new colony founded by Quakers under William Penn promised better relations. Almost all of the Indians were killed in raids before they could depart - in 1710.
