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The first permanent colony was established in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia.
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In 1615, inquisition condemns Italian scientist Galileo Galilei for supporting Copernicus for supporting Copernicus's theory that the sun is at rest in the center of the universe and that the Eart spins on its axis once daily, revolving around the sun.
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Shakespeare died in 1616.
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The first enslaved Africans arrive in North America at Jamestown in 1619.
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The Mayflower pilgrims establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Plymouth in 1620, seeking to preserve their cultural identity and obtain religious independence.
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John Smith published the General History of Virginia in 1624.
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William Bradford describes his journey across the Atlantic and pilgrims’ settlement in Of Plymouth Plantation in 1630. It was written over the course of 21 years. (1630-1651) It described the story of the Pilgrims from 1608 when they settled in the Dutch Republic to the year 1647.
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Indian emperor Shah Jahan begins construction of Taj Mahal in 1632. It is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the city of Agra, India.
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North America’s first public school was founded in Boston in 1635.
It is called the Boston Latin School. Today, it is named one of the top twenty high schools in the United States. Learning Latin is mandatory at this school. -
Bay Psalm Book is the first book to be printed in America in 1640.
It is a metrical Psalter, which is a kind of bible translation. One of the eleven known surviving editions sold in November, 2013 for 14.2 million dollars. -
In 1650, Anne Bradstreet’s poems, collected as the Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, are published in London. It was Bradstreet's only work published in her lifetime.
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In 1652, Dutch found Cape Town on the southern tip of South Africa. They set up a post that would supply fresh water, vegetables, and meat for the passing ships traveling to and from Asia.
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The Puritans’ victory in King Phillip’s War ended Native American resistance in New England colonies in 1676.
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In 1682, William Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania and Mary Rowlandson published The Sovereignty and Goodness of God.
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In 1687, Isaac Newton published Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. The most important work of the scientific revolution. The book simply sheds light on all of Newton's brilliant scientific and mathematical knowledge.
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In 1688, the Quakers voice their opposition to slavery in the abolition movement against slavery in the United Kingdom and the United States.
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In 1692, the Salem witch trials show an atmosphere of mass hysteria. People accused of doing witchcraft endured many hearings and prosecutions.
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In 1693, Cotton Mather published The Wonders of the Invisible World. The book was defending his role in the Salem Witch hunts and talked about how witchcraft was an evil type of magic.
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In 1694, Japanese poet Matsuo Basho, known for revitalizing the haiku form, died.
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In 1704, the first American newsletter, Boston Newsletter is published.
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In 1720, the colonial population reaches about a half million.
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In 1721, Johann Sebastian Bach composes the Brandenburg Concertos.
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In 1722, Benjamin Franklin uses humor to criticize the Puritan establishment in his first published work, The Dogood Papers. Benjamin Franklin's pen name was Silence Dogood because he kept getting denied when he tried publishing under his own name.
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In 1725, Peter the Great, Czar of Russia, dies.
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In 1726, Jonathan Swift published Gulliver’s Travels. It is about a man named Gulliver who is washed ashore after a shipwreck and encounters an island full of little people, no bigger than six inches tall.
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In 1739, the religious revival known as the Great Awakening begins. This left a permanent impact on American Protestantism.
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In 1741, Jonathan Edwards delivers a sermon called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. This particular sermon emphasizes that Hell is a real place.
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In 1744, the six nations of the Iroquois Confederation cede Ohio Valley north of the Ohio River to Britain.
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In 1752, Calcutta’s population reaches 12,000.
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Catherine the Great becomes empress of Russia in 1762. She was the most renowned and longest-ruling female leader of Russia.
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In 1773, the Boston Tea Party takes place. The Sons of Liberty in Boston rebelled against the new taxes, dressed up like Native Americans as a disguise, and threw over 90,000 pounds of tea into the sea.
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Abigail Adams writes first entry in what is published as Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife, Abigail in 1774.
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In 1776, George Washington invites Phillis Wheatley to visit after receiving from her a poem and letter. Also, Second Continental adopts the Declaration of Independence.
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In 1776, Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense argues the case for independence. It challenged the authority of the British government and the Royal Monarchy.
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In 1781, British defeat Yorktown and ends the American Revolution.
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In 1784, the Indian sacred text Bhagavad-Gita is translated into English for the first time. It is an ancient Hindu scripture that has over 700 verses.
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In 1787, the U.S. constitution was approved.
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In 1789, Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of… details the harsh treatment of captive Africans. Also, the storming of the Bastille incites the French Revolution.
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In 1791, the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber is published.
