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Colony at Roanoke
Roanoke, the site of the first English colony in America, is located off the coast of North Carolina, and although it failed, it was the start of all the subsequent colonies. -
The English Defeat the Spanish Armada
The Spanish wished to conquer England and convert it back to the Catholic faith, and to do this, put together the Armada, but Queen Elizabeth knew about this armada and its plans. She was able to defeat it, which gave the English a stronger sense of nationalism and established Protestantism as the state religion. -
Settlement at Jamestown
Jamestown, in Virginia, was the first permanent English colony in America, and was the beginning of what would eventually become the 13 colonies. -
First Anglo-Pohwatan War
Jamestown was established in Powhatan Indian territory. At first they were welcome, but then they fell out of the good graces of the Powhatan people and began a war with them. This was a major conflict between the natives and the English, but only the beginning of the conflicts that were to come. -
Establishment of the New Netherlands
New Netherland was the first colony of the Netherlands on the North American landmass, established as a private business for fur trade. Its capital was New Amsterdam on present-day Manhattan Island. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony, written by people fleeing the religious persecution of James I and VI. It said that the colonists would stick together, form a government, and try to spread Christianity. -
Second Anglo-Powhatan War
After a brief period of peace, the Powhatan people attacked the settlers, killing many. The English then attacked the Indians often for the next 10 years, backed by other tribes in the area. The final peace was declared in 1632, but this war left the effect of violence on the English toward the natives. -
Establishment of the Massechusetts Bay Colony
This colony was founded by the Massachusetts Bay Company and was strongly Puritan and intolerant to other religions. The colonists had good relationships with the natives at first, but like most other colonies, the friendship didn't last long. -
Banishment of Roger Williams
Williams was a Puritan minister accused of spreading "newe and dangerous opinions," such as religious freedom because of the "heretics" who were whipped, imprisoned and burned at the stake. He was found guilty and banished from the colony. He then established a friendship with the Narragansett Indians. -
Anne Hitchenson id Banished
Hutchinson held prayer meetings attended by both men and women, criticized the colony's ministers, and said that a person could know God's will directly, without going through the church. She was put on trial for heresy and banished from the colony. -
Pequot War
The Pequot War was fought between the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies on one side and the Pequot Native American tribe on the other. At the end of the war, 700 Pequot’s had been killed or taken into captivity, which resulted in the all but disappearance of the Pequot tribe. -
Fundemental Orders
The Fundamental Orders describe the government of Connecticut and was the very first written constitution. This same idea was of course used in the next century for the Constitution of the United States. The orders allowed more voting rights to the people than previous colonial governments. -
Maryland Act of Toleration
This was a law protecting Trinitarian Christians from hate speech and discrimination, and it was the second law in the New World concerning religious freedom, which is a major part of our separation from England. The law did however say that anyone who denied the divinity of Jesus could be put to death. -
Navigation Laws
Navigation Laws - These prohibited the colonists from using foreign shipping to trade products. This meant that they could no longer trade directly with the Dutch, French, etc. and instead had to use England as the middle man. This was one of the laws that led to the separation of England and the colonies. -
Establishment of the Carolina's
The founding of our state was based on money and slavery. The founders wanted to make a big profit and to do this, they used the land and the slaves brought from Barbados. The economy prospered, and the state became a major agricultural center. -
Barbados Slave Code
This was the law that allowed slave trade on the island of Barbados legal. The law did provide protection for both master and slave, but in practice it provided much more for the master than for the slave. The slaves did not receive protection from being overworked, beaten, or killed. This was the beginning of the slave trade that would go on in and around America for hundreds of years. -
Establishment of Rhode Island
Roger Williams founded Providence in Rhode Island after he was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and declared that it was a place of religious freedom. Anne Hutchinson among others founded Portsmouth and later Newport after a disagreement among the founders split them up. Eventually all three colonies joined to become the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. -
New Netherlands becomes New York
There were three Anglo-Dutch wars, with the English eventually emerging victorious, but the Dutch people left an impact on the value system of America. They left a spirit of civil liberty and pluralism. -
King Phillips War
This war was a conflict between a group of Native Americans in New England led by King Philip (Metacomet) and the Puritans of the same region, led by Major Benjamin Church. This war had a huge devastational effect on the New England colonies. This was the beginning of the colonists' feeling of being separate from England. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an uprising in Virginia in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon against the Governor’s policy of friendliness towards the Native Americans even though they had attacked settlements. This was the first rebellion in the colonies where dissatisfied colonists took a part, which may have had an influence on the American Revolution. -
Penn's "Holy Experiment"
The "Holy Experiment" was what William Penn called his colony (Pennsylvania). He advertised his colony as a liberal government and tried to attract all types of people. This attracted a lot of Quakers among others. -
Dominion of New England
This was an administrative union between the different English colonies in New England, although it failed due to the large area it was trying to cover with only a single governor. Eventually, because the governor was unpopular with the colonists, he and his administration were overthrown and the colonies governed themselves to an extent. This was the start of the idea that states/colonies can rule themselves to an extent, and that one ruling power is not enough. -
The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a Christian movement that made religion more personal and left a huge impact on American religion and brought Christianity to African slaves. -
Establishment of Georgia
Georgia was last to be established of the original 13 colonies. James Oglethorpe founded the colony when he landed at the present site of Savannah, Georgia, and named it after King George II. Originally the colony was controlled separately from the crown and prohibited slavery, but eventually the control had to be handed over.