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Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus
In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue...He found what was called the New World in search for gold and spices. He was originally sailing for India, but landed in an island called San Salvador. -
James Town Colony
In 1607 Jamestown is settled by the London Company. 12 years later in 1619 the House of Burgess's meets for the first time and slaves are brought in to Jamestown for the first time as well. While Jamestown is being settled there is another colony that emerges. This one took place in Massachusetts in 1620. It was known as the Plymouth colony. The colonists where Pilgrims and set out exploration in search for religious freedom. -
French Native American Colony
The first French colony in N. America was Quebec in 1608. The French wanted to empower their mother country with raw materials so as England. Colonizing North America was the next priority. -
Plymouth Colony
The colonists where Pilgrims and set out exploration in search for religious freedom. They wanted freedom from the Anglican church. The Pilgrims were skilled navigators and farmers. On the Mayflower the Pilgrims were a minority. The Pilgrims set the ship off course. When the majority found out they were not going to Virginia they protested. Both parties came into a consensus that where ever they arrived would be Pilgrim land; however, would be governed by the majority. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The leader of this Colony was John Winthrop. He and 1,000 puritan refugees settled in modern day Massachusetts to seek religious freedom because the Anglican church were persecuting them. They tried planting and farming but the land was not farming land yielding little to no profits. They began shipping and within the next coming years. 25,000 Puritans arrived at the newly formed colony. -
Rhode Island
Was established by Roger Williams. He was expelled from his Massachusetts colony because of his different ideas of handling government and the church. He believed that the church and civil liberties should be different institutions because he believed that civil issues would corrupt the clergy (those involved in the church) and they corrupt the very people who fled Europe when persecution was at its highest. He was not given a royal charter until 1644 as an official colony of Great Britain. -
European Exploration
A few of the main reasons for European exploration and colonization of the New World was religious and economical. The motto was gold, glory, and God. England and its neighbors wanted to increase their power so they sought to extract resources from the continent and N.A. in order to become the most powerful country. Many settles from Great Britain arrived in search of religious freedom, such as Plymouth, Massachusetts colony, and the state of Rhode of Island. -
Laredo, Texas
The first Spanish colony in North America is known today as Laredo, Texas. The Spanish primary mission was to convert Native Americans into Catholicism.