colonial timeline

  • Roanoke

    Roanoke

    Roanoke Colonies were ambitious attempt by England's Walter Raleigh to establish permanent North American settlement with a purpose of harassing Spanish shipping, mining for gold and discovering a passage to the Pacific Ocean, and Christianizing Indians.
  • House of Burgesses

    House of Burgesses

    The House of Burgesses was an assembly of representatives from Virginia that met in 1643 to 1776. This elected legislative body was the first of its kind in English North America.
  • mayfower/plymouth/mayflower compact

    mayfower/plymouth/mayflower compact

    1620 agreement first called the Mayflower in 1793 was a instrument that put the Pilgrims together when they arrived in New England.
  • Rhode island

    Rhode island

    Roger Williams founded Rhode Island at in 1619 purchased from the Narragansett Indians. They were forced to flee Massachusetts because of persecution, Williams established a policy of religiousl freedom in his new settlement.
  • Great Migration

    Great Migration

    the great migration started when Winthrop was elected Governor. Carrying the charter with him, in 1620 he lead the first contingent of colonists. Before the end of the year almost 1,000 people had moved to Massachusetts.
  • New York

    New York

    Dutch first settled along the Hudson River in 1624 and established the colony on Manhattan Island. In 1664, the English took control of the area and renamed it New York. One of the original 13 colonies.
  • Massachusetts bay colony

    Massachusetts bay colony

    Massachusetts Bay Colony, an original English settlements in present-day Massachusetts, settled in 1630 by a group of Puritan refugees from England under Gov. John Winthrop and Deputy Gov.
  • carolina

    carolina

    March 24, 1663, Charles issued a new charter to a group of English noblemen, granting them the land of Carolina, as reward for their faithful support of his efforts to regain the throne of England. They were called Lords Proprietors.
  • Connecticut

    Connecticut

    The New Haven Colony is established by John Davenport, Theophilus Eaton, and a group of Puritans. Settlers establish the towns of Fairfield, Guilford, Milford Stratford. John Haynes is chosen as Connecticut's first governor.
  • Maryland Toleration act

    Maryland Toleration act

    The Maryland Toleration Act, the first law in North America requiring religious tolerance for Christians. It was passed on April 21, 1649, by the assembly of the Maryland colony.
  • Bacon's Rebellion

    Bacon's Rebellion

    Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel against Colonial Governor Mr.Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American Indians out of Virginia.
  • Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania

    English Quaker William Penn founded Pennsylvania colony in 1681, when King Charles granted him a charter for over 40,000 square miles of land. He had previously helped find Quaker settlements in West New Jersey and was trying to expand his Quaker colony.
  • Salem Witch Trails

    Salem Witch Trails

    Salem witch trials American history, a series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted witches to be hung and lots of other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
  • Great awakening/Enlightenment

    Great awakening/Enlightenment

    Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitefield saw a host of social, religious, changes across the British Empire. While the Great Awakening emphasized emotional religiosity, the Enlightenment promoted the power of reason and scientific observation.
  • French Indiana war

    French Indiana war

    The American Indians were fighting to keep control of their land and culture. The French claimed the Upper Ohio River. They wanted to trade with the American Indians and take control the area. The British also claimed the Upper Ohio River Valley.
  • Albany Plan

    Albany Plan

    The Albany Plan of Union was written by Benjamin Franklin and introduced during the Albany, which was held in New York in 1754. Prior to the Albany Congress, Franklin wrote down his ideas for a union of the colonies.
  • Jamestown

    Jamestown

    Governor Berkeley declaired war in the colony. In September, Bacon and his followers set a fire to Jamestown, destroying up to 18 houses, the church and the statehouse. Not long after, in October, the Rebellion began its end with the death of Nathaniel Bacon.
  • Proclamation

    Proclamation

    King George III declared all lands west of the Appalachian off-limits to colonial settlers. This royal proclamation, issued on October 7, 1763, closed down colonial expansion westward beyond Appalachia.
  • Salutary Neglect

    Salutary Neglect

    The salutary neglect is the unofficial British policy where parliamentary rules and laws were loosely or not forced on the American colonies and trade. For the colonists, this policy expanded some freedom when it came to trade and self government, and resulted in colonial growth and prosperity.
  • Maryland

    Maryland

    Maryland Colony was a British colony was from 1632 until 1776 when it joined the other twelve of the 13 original colonies against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland. Its first settlement and capital were St. Mary's city.