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Jamestown Settled
In April of 1607, three ships, the Susan Constant, the Goodspeed, and the Discovery, sailed up the James River to Virginia and settled. Although this land contained terrible soil and brackish tidal water, the English still selected it because it was out of sight from Spanish patrols and offered easy defense against ground attacks. It was also positioned near several Indian trading networks that suggested many benefits. -
Tobacco Discovered
In the year 1616, John Rolfe crossed tobacco strains from Guiana and Trinidad to produce Virginia's first tobacco crop. Previously, Jamestown was a failing colony where eighty percent of its inhabitants had died of disease or starvation. However, with the arrival of the tobacco, Jamestown was saved. The "noxious weed," as King James I described it, took the World by storm and became Virginia's first cash crop. -
Southern Slavery Born
In 1619, southern slavery was born when a group of Dutch sailors sold a twenty African slaves to the English in Virginia. -
Opechancanough's Massacre
In 1622, Powhatan's death led to the succession of his brother, Opechancanough. Opechancanough immediately launched a surprise attack on the colonists in Virginia, killing over 350 of them (one third of all the colonists). This massacre led the governor of Virginia to legalize the removal of all savages in order to gain free range of the country. -
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The Great Migration
The Puritans, facing expanding persecution, began the Great Migration to New England. From 1630-1640, roughly twenty thousand people migrated to New England, including Jonathan Winthrop. The Puritans dedicated themselves to reforming the Church of England in the New World. -
Settling Charles Town, Carolina
In 1670, three ships from Barbados landed at the mouth of the Ashley River and settled Charles Town. The Lords Proprietor of Carolina used attractive incentives to entice colonists, such as religious tolerance, political representation by assembly, exemption from fees, and large land grants. These attractions worked well and Carolina grew quickly. -
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Bacon's Rebellion (cont)
Berkeley had Bacon arrested, which resulted in an army of Bacon's volunteers surrounding the State House demanding that Bacon be named general of Virginia. Finally Bacon got his way and went to war against the Indians. However, the rebellion soon became less organized and began to spiral out of control. The rebels eventually suffered a crushing defeat. After Bacon's death, his successors surrendered to Berkeley in 1677, ending Bacon's Rebellion. -
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Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion began in 1675 due to an argument between Thomas Matthew and the Doeg Indians over a pig. This led to the accidental killing of fourteen Sesquehannock Indians, resulting in the Sesquehannock War. This caused a crisis in Virginia; however, governor Sir William Berkeley did not send an army after the Susquehannock Indians, enraging the colonists. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon became the leader of an anti-indian group of volunteers. He was elected to burgess and confronted Berkeley. -
Decree of Sanctuary
In 1693, the Spanish king issued the Decree of Sanctuary, which stated that any slaves fleeing English colonies would be granted freedom if they converted to Catholicism and swore an oath of loyalty to Spain.
