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The London Company sponsors a colonizing expedtion to Virginia.
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Jamestown is founded by the Virginia Company in 1607.
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Tobacco is introduced in the Virginia colony by John Rolfe.
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Slavery begins in the colonies, as twenty Africans are brought by a Dutch ship to Jamestown for sale as servants.
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A smallpox epidemic decimates the Native American population in New England.
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British pilgrims set sail for New Egland on the Mayflower in September.
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The pilgrims land with the Mayflower Compact in the town of Plymouth in 1620.
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The Pilgrims and their Indian allies celebrate harvest and survival, known as Thanksgiving.
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All land in Plymouth Colony is divided into provate property and distributed among the settlers.
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A group of merchants in London who support the Puritans and seekto establish a profitable trade with the Indians recieve a royal charter.
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The Massachusetts Bay Company becomes a provincial government, and Massachusetts is founded.
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Over 1,000 colonists have arrived.
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A violent earthquake strikes New England, centered in the St. Lawrence Velley.