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Jamestown Founded
On May 14, 1607, "180 immigrants arrived on the American shore..." (Peng, 2020, p. 656). These people settled Jamestown which became, "the first permanent English settlement in North America..." (Horn, 2011, p. 25). The leader in the beginning was Captain John Smith and the sponsor was the Virginia Company of London (Pula, 2008, p. 477).
Photo credit: MPI/Stringer, 1754 -
Henry Hudson Commissioned by the Dutch
"Sharing the European hunger for access to Asia, in 1609 the Dutch commissioned the Englishman Henry Hudson to discover the fabled Northwest Passage through North America. He failed, of course, but nevertheless found the Hudson River and claimed modern-day New York for the Dutch" (Colliding Cultures, 2019).
Photo credit: Library and Archives Canada/C-17727, 2020 -
House of Burgesses Established
"In 1619, the Virginia Company established the House of Burgesses, a limited representative body composed of white landowners that first met in Jamestown" (Colliding Cultures, 2019). -
African Slaves Came to Jamestown
"...a Dutch slave ship sold twenty Africans to the Virginia colonists. Southern slavery was born" (Colliding Cultures, 2019). -
Pilgrims Found Plymouth
"...The Pilgrims were religious separatists who reached America in 1620 on board of the Mayflower with William Bradford (1590-1657); when sailing for the 'new world,' they had been granted land and support by the Virginia Company, yet, landing further north on the coastline, they 'missed' Virginia ... and founded Plymouth, as legend has it, at the site of a rock. Within a few years, the colony had 2.500 inhabitants and maintained quite a rigorous community life" (Paul, 2014, p. 138). -
Pequot War
"In May 1637...English Puritans from Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Connecticut colonies trekked into Native American territory that was claimed by New England. Referring to themselves as the 'Sword of the Lord,' this military force intended to attack 'that insolent and barbarous Nation, called the Pequots.' In the resulting violence, Puritans put the Mystic community to the torch..."(British North America, 2019). Very few escaped and most of the Pequots died (British North America, 2019). -
Navigation Act of 1651
"It followed up the embargo with the Navigation Act of 1651, which compelled merchants in every colony to ship goods directly to England in English ships. Parliament sought to bind the colonies more closely to England and prevent other European nations, especially the Dutch, from interfering with its American possessions" (British North America, 2019). -
Bacon's Rebellion
A rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon and some Virginia colonists against Governor William Berkeley. In the end Bacon's successors surrendered to Berkeley (British North America, 2019).
