Colonial America Timeline

  • Roanoke

    Roanoke
    The first colony of the English was Roanoke. The mayor left to go to England to request resources and manpower. When he came back three years later the colonists had disappeared and it is unknown what happened to them. The only thing they found was the word "CROATOAN" carved into trees.
  • Jamestown

    Jamestown
    The Jamestown Colony was the first permanent English settlement. It was established May 14, 1607. The success of Jamestown led to the Virginia Colony establishment. 104 English men and boys picked Jamestown to be the first permanent settlement. They named it after King James I.
  • Maryland

    Maryland
    In 1608, an English explorer named, Captain John Smith sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and mapped the shoreline. In 1632, Cecilius Calvert was granted a charter for Roman Catholics to escape the restrictions of the English church. Calverts younger brother Leonard Calvert became the governor. The settlers made peace with the Native Americans And established farms and trading posts. The most important crap was tobacco.
  • House of Burgesses

    House of Burgesses
    The House of Burgesses was the first legislative body. There were 11 settlements at the time and each settlement elected two representatives. The House of Burgesses granted supplies and originated laws.
  • Mayflower/Plymouth/Mayflower Compact

    Mayflower/Plymouth/Mayflower Compact
    The Mayflower left England with the Pilgrims in 1620. The Pilgrims settled and named the place Plymouth. The group agreed to make and follow "just and equal" laws.
  • New York

    New York
    In 1609, Henry Hudson traveled up that river that was later called the Hudson. The first permanent settlement was in 1624, the Dutch established Fort Orange, and set up many trading posts.
  • Carolina

    Carolina
    The Carolina's were apart of the Southern colonies. Carolina was split into North and South. The Southern colonies were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
  • The Great Migration (Puritan)

    The Great Migration (Puritan)
    In 1630, some of the Puritans left England to be able to practice their religion freely. The Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans based their colony on the rules of their God and only let members of the church settle In Massachusetts Bay.
  • Massachusetts Bay Colony

    Massachusetts Bay Colony
    The Massachusetts Bay Colony was established in 1630. About 1,000 Puritans came from England. The Puritans had strict religious beliefs, and were often persecuted over disagreements with the Church of England. The Puritans left England and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Only the members of the church were allowed to settle there.
  • Connecticut

    Connecticut
    The first European permanent settlers came in 1633, from the Massachusetts Bay colony. Trading posts were set up along the Connecticut river and the relationship between the English and the Native Americans was good.
  • Rhode Island

    Rhode Island
    In 1936, Roger Williams and his followers founded Providence. He had been earlier banished from the Massachusetts Colony for believing in separation of church and state. In 1663, the king of England granted them a charter to become a colony, named Rhode Island. British colonists from Massachusetts and Connecticut invaded Rhode Island, in 1675. Many of the Indians were killed, and in return they destroyed
  • Maryland Toleration Act

    Maryland Toleration Act
    The governor at the time in Maryland, Governor Calvert, welcomed Roman Catholics and non-Catholic Christian. Calvert, In 1649, Maryland passed the Act Concerning Religion. The Act Concerning Religion granted freedom of worship to all Christians. This was the first toleration act in America.
  • Bacon’s Rebellion

    Bacon’s Rebellion
    In 1676, a man named Nathaniel Bacon wanted the Native Americans out of the Virginia colony. But the governor, William Berkeley, wanted to trade with them. Bacon organized raids against Berkeley and took control of Jamestown, and burned it to the ground. In the same year, Bacon died of a fever and the rebellion collapsed.
  • Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania
    In 1681, King Charles II granted the Pennsylvania to William Penn to start a new colony. Penn was a Quaker, they were punished in England for their religious beliefs. Penn established the colony as a safe place of more Quakers to came and settle.
  • Salem Witch Trials

    Salem Witch Trials
    In 1692 to 1693, investigations caused 19 suspected "witches" to be hung. More suspects were imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay colony.
  • Great Awakening/Enlightenment

    Great Awakening/Enlightenment
    The Great Awaking was a religious movement in the British colonies. Protestant Christian preachers thought that good behavior was more important than bible reading and school. Traveling preachers spread the movement through the colonies and preached in fields because the crowd was so big. The Enlightenment began in Europe in the 1700's, and spread all over the world. The people who believed in the enlightenment thought that the royal leaders and Roman Catholic Church has too much power.
  • Albany Plan

    Albany Plan
    The Albany Congress was to discuss plans for war with France. The war with France was about to begin, so the colonists agreed to a union of the colonies. That was the Albany Plan. The congress passed the plan but it never went into effect. Benjamin Franklin came up with a cartoon to rally the colonies. See picture for more.
  • French-Indian War

    French-Indian War
    The French-Indian War lasted from 1754 to 1763. The French and Indian War began over if the British or the French got the upper Ohio River valley. The French allied with Indians but the British won the war, taking control of most of the colonies in North America.
  • The Proclamation of 1763

    The Proclamation of 1763
    In 1763, the British king made a decree to manage Great Britain's lands. Britain had recently won the French and Indian War, and won land from French. The Proclamation of 1763 prohibited British colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains, this was so that they could control the land better.
  • Salutary Neglect

    Salutary Neglect
    The Salutary Neglect was an unofficial policy made by the British government. The policy let the North American colonies be on their own with little to no British interference. It was in practice from the late 1600's to the mid- 1700's.