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Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, is established by the London Company in southeast Virginia.
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The House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in America, meets for the first time in Virginia. The first African slaves are brought to Jamestown.
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The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims from England.
Before disembarking from their ship, the Mayflower, 41 male passengers sign the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that forms the basis of the colony's government. -
This Portulan navigation chart on vellum was compiled by Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635)
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Colonial population is estimated at 50,400.
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English seize New Amsterdam (city and colony) from the Dutch and rename it New York.
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Britain and the British colonies switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar
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French and Indian War: Final conflict in the ongoing struggle between the British and French for control of eastern North America. The British win a decisive victory over the French on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec.
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Boston Massacre: British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests.
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Boston Tea Party: Group of colonial patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians board three ships in Boston harbor and dump more than 300 crates of tea overboard as a protest against the British tea tax.
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First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, with 56 delegates representing every colony except Georgia. Delegates include Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams.
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Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
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American Revolution: War of independence fought between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America. Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war.
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Shays's Rebellion erupts; farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina take up arms to protest high state taxes and stiff penalties for failure to pay.
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George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors.
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John Adams is inaugurated as the second president in Philadelphia.