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Christopher Colombus discovering the Americas would directly to numerous monumental progresses that would shape the following centuries. The Colombian Exchange, Trans-Atlantic slavery, and the mass-colonization of the Americas. -
In 1587, settlers would arrive at what is now Roanoke. A few years later, John White would leave the settlers behind in order to acquire more supplies from mainland England. When he returned from this voyage, he would find no remaining settlers and the settlement completely abandoned. The only thing that remained was a carving on a tree that stated, "Croatoan." -
In spring of 1607, colonists of the Virginia Company of London would arrive in North America after a long voyage at Sea in what is today Chesapeake. This colony would be the first permanent English colony in North America, and would be one of the settlements which would make the total English colonization of the Eastern American seaboard possible. -
In August of 1619, a Portuguese ship carrying Africans would arrive at the Jamestown colony. Some of these Africans would be traded for food, but they would end up being the first of many Africans to come to the British colonies in North America. -
In November of 1620, the Mayflower ship would land at Plymouth Rock in what is today Massachusetts. The occupants of the ship would consist of many Puritan separatists that desired freedom from the religious persecution that they would receive in primarily Anglican England. Their early experiences in North America would be heavily aided by the local native populations that had already been ravaged by disease just a few years earlier. -
In 1676, after a mixture of tyrannical faults committed by Colonial Governor of Virginia William Berkeley, Nathaniel Bacon and hundreds of his frontiersman followers launched an uprising against his rule. This rebellion would contain a mixture of different races and classes, frightening those whom had the power in the colonies. While the rebellion was unsuccessful and the Native Americans Bacon wanted driven out of Virginia stayed, Berkeley would be called back to England. -
The French and Indian War would rage on in the Americas a few years longer than the Seven Years' War would in Europe. Both wars, however, would come to a close and be resolved via the Treaty of Paris in 1763. This treaty would give Britain essentially all of the French land in the Americas (except for a few pieces which would be given to the Spanish) and the Indian subcontinent. This new acquisition of land is precisely what the Virginians had wanted, and thus were contented temporarily. -
In March of 1770, many disgruntled Bostonians would begin to shout and (initially) throw snowballs. The projectiles thrown would gradually evolve to contain both stones and sticks as well. Eventually, something would snap and British soldiers would open fire upon the crowd of rioters. Five people in total would die from this incident, but it would fan a major wave of revolutionary fervor and anti-British sentiment across the colonies. -
In response to the Tea Act that the British Parliament had enacted just a few months earlier, a revolutionary group named the Sons of Liberty would dress in the attire of Mohawk Native Americans, and throw what is equivalent to millions of dollars worth of tea into Boston Harbor. Consequentially, British troops would be sent to shut down Boston Harbor as well as several other punishments, however, more importantly, this would be the first act of revolutionary defiance and would fan more flame. -
This would be the first meeting of delegates from (almost) all the colonies in order to respond to the seemingly tyrannical actions of the British parliament. Most notably, the Intolerable Acts and the blockade of Boston Harbor. The Albany Plan was also introduced by Benjamin Franklin at the meeting, but it would be rejected by the delegates of the Congress and would end up going nowhere. There was also a plan to reconvene the Congress a second time if the British decided to do nothing. -
The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first two military engagements of the American Revolutionary War ("Shot heard 'round the world). These would end in a colonial victory, and while the American troops at Lexington would be shattered, when the British regular troops would march on to Concord, American troops would hand them a defeat. These battles would see the British troops that would be sent to put down the rebellion pushed back all the way to their base in Boston. -
In May, after the initial battles of Lexington and Concord, the many delegates from all thirteen British colonies were assembled once more to form the Second Continental Congress. This body would be the first governing body for the new nation, guiding it through the tumultuous Revolutionary War, and would only be disbanded in 1781, when a new body would be established via the newly ratified Articles of Confederation. -
In the opening months of 1776, the relatively new Stamp Act would end up being repealed after major popular dissent towards the act. This act would apply a tax to essentially all printed material in the colonies. A tax that many in the colonies would find utterly unacceptable. While this act would be repealed, as was aforementioned, the mere fact that the British crown would attempt to apply this type of fundraising tool fanned the revolutionary flames in the American colonies. -
The signing of the Declaration of Independence would officially signify the intent of the thirteen British colonies to secede from the British Empire and form an independent nation themselves. The American Revolutionary War would no longer be mainly about sending a message to British parliament that unrepresented taxes would not be accepted, it would be about forming a new nation themselves. -
After the Battle of Saratoga, wavering faith in the American forces had become rapidly reversing. Americans themselves, as well as the French and Spanish onlookers would feel rejuvenated in the efforts of the revolutionary forces. This would culminate in the signing of the Treaty of Alliance between the Kingdom of France and the newly independent United States. This treaty would not only mean that the United States would have official recognition from France, but a defense pact would be enacted. -
Von Steuben would be trained in Prussian military tradition since a young age. At 17, he would join the Prussian Army, and would end up serving as a second lieutenant for the Prussians during the Seven Years' War. During Washington and his army's stay at Valley Forge, he would arrive and turn the force that consisted of mostly volunteers and militiamen into a hardy, disciplined fighting force that could legitimately rival that of the British. He would be appointed I.G. shortly afterward. -
The Articles of Confederation would be the document that would establish the first form of government for the United States of America. The document would stress mainly on individual states rights and autonomy, with only a weak federal government existing. This part of the Articles would ultimately be it's downfall, for the federal government would be so weak that it would essentially have no power to enforce laws or keep the United States together in any sense.
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The Treaty of Paris would bring an end to the seven year long American Revolutionary War. This would make the United States a sovereign nation independent from British colonial rule, and would guarantee the new country vast swaths of formerly British land in the west. -
Since May, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention had worked tirelessly to create a new document to replace the ineffectual Articles of Confederation in order to create a more stable foundation for the new nation to rest upon. In September, they would have it. The United States Constitution which would outline many basic rights that each and every citizen of the United States would have, most notably the first ten Constitutional amendments that would be known as the Bill of Rights. -
The French Revolutionary Wars would begin in 1792, and would be extremely concerning to the many monarchies in Europe, including the British monarchy. This treaty would allow tensions and differences faced between the British and the new American state to be soothed with 10 years of peaceful existence and commerce being established. This treaty would not only allow peace between Britain and America, however, for it would also grow an already increasing two sided split in American politics.
