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Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement in America! -
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson, working for the Dutch, sails into New York harbor and up the river that would bear his name to Albany. -
Pocahontas and John R.
The history of Jamestown continues with the marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe, who would bring tobacco seeds to the colony and begin its harvesting this year. Their marriage led to eight years of peace among the colonists and Indians. -
Smallpox
Smallpox epidemic wipes out 90% of the Native Americans in the Massachusetts Bay area. -
The House of Burgesses
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. -
The Puritans
The Puritan expedition which left England for the New World on September 6, reaches Cape Cod near Provincetown, not their original destination of Virginia. They explore the coastline for an appropriate settlement location. -
The Plymouth Colony/ Mayflower Compact
The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims from England. Before disembarking from their ship, the Mayflower, the male passengers sign the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that forms the basis of the colony's government. -
Maryland
Maryland is founded as a Catholic colony promoting religious tolerance. The subsequent state is named for Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of England's Charles I. -
Providence
Providence, Rhode Island is founded as a colony by Roger Williams two years after his banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Its charter would be granted eight years later as a democratic colony believing in the separation of church and state. -
Slavery
Slavery is legalized in Connecticut and recognized in the American colonies. -
New Amsterdam
English seize New Amsterdam (city and colony) from the Dutch and rename it New York. -
Bacon´s Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion causes the burning of Jamestown. Nathanial Bacon leads the rebellion of planters against Governor Berkeley. Bacon would perish and twenty-three others were executed. -
Pennsylvania
The colony of Pennsylvania is established when William Penn signs a treaty with the Delaware Indians and pays for Pennsylvania lands. -
The Salem Witch Hunts
The Salem witch hunts, spurred by preaching, results in the arrest of one hundred and fifty people and the death of nineteen