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Port Royal Established in Acadia
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Death of Queen Elizabeth I of England
Queen Elizabeth dies with no permanent English North American colony being established. -
Treaty of London
King James makes peace with Spain -
The Virginia Company Sets Sail for Virginia
The Charter of 1606 or the First Charter of Virginia assigned land rights to colonists. Three ships carrying 105 colonist led by Christopher Newport sailed for the new world. -
The Susan Contant, The Godspeed, and The Discovery
Settlers from Europe arrive, sailing up the James River (named for King James I) to establish Virginia (named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen) as a colony. -
Quebec Founded as a Colony
Under the leadership of Samuel de Champlain -
Henry Hudson Discovers the Hudson River
Tasked with finding the Northwest Passage, he found the Hudson River instead and staked a claim for modern day New York for the Dutch. -
1st Southwestern European Colony Established
Santa Fe was founded by Pedro de Peralta and named for Francis of Assisi. -
Pocahontas Marries an Englishman
Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas marries John Rolfe easing British relations with her tribe. She later moves to England. -
America Develops its First Cash Crop
John Rolfe crosses strains of tobacco from Trinidad and Guiana. -
Jamestown Exports 1st Tobacco Shipment
Jamestown sends its first cargo of tobacco back to England -
Headright Policy
Gave migrants land to encourage settlement in the 13 colonies, used mainly in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland. -
Slaves Come to Virginia
The Virginia Company imports its first slaves -
House of Burgesses Meets
The Virginia Company establishes the House of Burgesses. This was a representative body of white landowners that first met in Jamestown. -
The Mayflower Sets Sail for the Americas Beginning the Great Puritan Migration
Puritans set sail for the New World. This migration would last for 20 years. -
Charter of The Dutch West India Company
The Netherlands charter the Dutch West India Company -
Death of Powhatan and Succession of Opechancanough
Powhatan is succeeded by his brother, Opechancanough who killed over 350 settlers. -
New Amsterdam Formed
Modern day New York formed on the island of Manhattan by the Dutch West India Company -
Munsee Indians Sell Manhattan
Peter Minuit "bought" Manhattan from the Munsee. 11 slaves were imported due to the failed patroon system -
A City Upon a Hill
John Winthrop gives his speech outlining the expectations of the newly formed Massachusetts Bay Colony -
Second British American Colony
Charles I set aside a tract of about 12 million acres at the Northern tip of Chesapeake Bay to establish a second American Colony. -
Colonists Move to Settle Connecticut
Originally settled by the Dutch in 1614, English settlers came later with Reverend Thomas Hooker -
Protestant and Catholic Settlers Arrive in Maryland
Land was given to Charles I's friend, the 2nd Lord Baltimore who believed that Protestants and Catholics could live together peacefully. -
Roger Williams Establishes the Colony of Rhode Island
Radical Williams, banned from Massachusetts Bay colony, purchased land from the Narangansett Indians and established the 1st white settlement near Providence. -
Negotiation for Providence
Roger Williams created Providence negotiating for the land with Narrangansett sachems, Canonicus and Miantonomi -
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Pequot War
Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and Saybrook colonists fought against the Pequot Indians to settle Pequot territory. The war would last until September 21, 1638. -
Parliament Refuses to Grant Charles I Subsidies to Suppress a Scottish Rebellion
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The First Book is Printed in America
The Bay Psalm Book is printed -
Dutch Colony's First African Marriage
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Irish Rebellion Against England
Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and Saybrook colonists fought against the Pequot Indians to settle Pequot territory. The war would last until September 21, 1638. -
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The English Civil Wars
Strained relations between Charles I and Parliament over an Irish insurrection leads to civil war. The first was settled with Oliver Cromwell's victory at the Battle of Naseby in 1645 and the 2nd ended with Charles' defeat at the Battle of Preston in 1649. Charles' son invaded Scotland in 1650, Cromwell ended the "wars of three kingdoms" in 1651. -
Virginia Law Makes African Women "Titheable"
This was to distinguish white women from African women. -
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Governor Kieft's War
Also known as the Wappinger War was between settlers of the nascent colony in New Netherland and the native Lenape in modern day New York. -
Parliamentary Patent Uniting the Towns of Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport
Rhode Islands' first governing document obtained by Roger Williams -
New Haven Colony Organized
Never having a charter, it was founded in 1637, settled in 1638 and combined with Milford and Guilford in 1643 naming founder Theophilus Eaton governor. -
Charles I of England Executed
Parliament won the civil war in England against Charles I. Charles I was executed making England a republic and protectorate under Oliver Cromwell. -
Maryland Revolt
Puritans in Maryland revolted, setting up a new government prohibiting Catholicism and Anglicanism. -
Economic Embargo
Parliament leveled an economic embargo on rebelling colonies. -
Navigation Act
Navigation Act of 1651-compelled merchants in every colony to ship goods directly to England in English ships. -
Providence Bans Slavery
Providence settlers’ elected president and council passed a law abolishing chattel slavery. -
The Crown Acquires Jamaica
Driven off the island of Hispaniola, the British sailed for the weakly defended island of Jamaica and the Spanish retreated inland. -
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Esopus Wars
Conflicts between the indigenous Esopus tribe of Lenape Indians and colonialist New Netherlanders in modern Ulster County, New York -
First Bible Printed in America
by Samuel Green and Maramaduke Johnson -
Charles II of England Ascends the Throne After Exile
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Partus Sequitur Ventrem
Virginia law stated that an enslaved woman’s children inherited the “condition” of their mother sparking other colonies to do the same. -
The Eliot Bible
The Eliot Bible was printed in the Natick dialect of the Algonquin tribes. -
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Chartered
Charter issued by Charles II establishing Rhode Island and Providence Plantations as a royal colony. -
The Dutch Surrender New Netherland to England
Governor Peter Stuyvesant surrenders New Amsterdam to the British. -
New Haven Becomes Part of Connecticut
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Fundamental Constitution of Carolina
John Locke coauthored the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina explicitly legalizing slavery from the beginning -
Charles Town (Charleston)
Charles Town (Charleston) founded by three ships of colonists from Barbados at the mouth of the Ashley River -
The Dutch Briefly Recapture New Netherland
During the 3rd Anglo-Dutch war but gave it up the next year in a peace treaty. -
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King Philip's War
1675-1676 John Sassomon’s body was found under the ice of a pond leading to the trial and execution of three warriors of Metacom in June with retaliation of the Wampanoags killing 9 English colonists in Swansea. The Indian uprising Indian fought against the encroachments of the New England Colonies resulting in ending Indian power in New England and slaying Metacom -
Great Swamp Fight
The English attacked the Narrangansett of Rhode Island in December. -
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Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia-grew out of tensions between Native Americans and English settlers as well as tensions between wealthy English landowners and poor settlers pushing west into Indian territory sparking the Susquehannock War. -
Pope's Rebellion
Puebloan religious leader, Pope led groups in a 4-day siege, razing the Spanish countryside and besieging Santa Fe. -
Printing Press in America
William Nuthead set up a printing shop but was forbidden completion of projects by Governor -
Edict of Fountainbleau
Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes allowing protestants the freedom to practice their religion in France thus criminalizing protestantism. -
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The Dominion of New England
James II established the Dominion of New England consolidating the New England colonies, New York and New Jersey. -
Conscription for Campaign Against the Maine Indians
Sir Edmund Andros forced colonists into military service for a campaign against the Maine Indians -
Society of Friends Protest Slavery
Members of Society of Friends in Germantown outside Philadelphia signed petition protesting slavery among fellow Quakers. -
The Glorious Revolution Begins in England
Protestant Whigs led a bloodless coup forcing King James II into exile and elevated his daughter, Mary and her husband, William of Orange to the Monarchy. This was closely followed by the American colonists. -
English Bill of Rights
Parliament passed a Bill of Rights curtailing the power of the monarchy and cemented Protestantism in England -
Paper Money in the Western World
Colonial Massachusetts became 1st place in Western World to issue paper bills to be used as money-bills of credit -
Province of Carolina
Lords Proprietor founded province of Carolina. -
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The Salem Witch Trials
1692-1693 Salem Town, Salem Village, Ipswich, and Andover tried women and men as witches. -
Decree of Santuary
Spanish king issued the Decree of Sanctuary granted freedom to slaves fleeing the English colonies if they converted to Catholicism and swore an oath of loyalty to Spain. -
Thomas Hooker Settles Newtown
Hooker led a hundred people and livestock to settle Newton (modern day Hartford)
