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East India Company Founded
The East India Trading Company was founded December 31, 1600. It would become a giant company, heavily involved with the colonization of North America and exchanging of American and European goods. -
Dutch Enter the New World
The Dutch East India Company brought the first Dutch settlers to America upon the De Halve Maen. On this ship was Henry Hudson, who discovered the Northwest Passage. -
Jamestown Founded
The colony of Jamestown was founded in 1609, and led by John Smith. It faced many hardships in its early years, namely near extinction in 1610, when colonists resorted to cannibalism after a failed harvest. -
Formation of House of Burgesses, Slavery
The House of Burgesses, one of the first attempts at colonial government, was a bicameral, elected legislative body that served as part of the Virginia General Assembly. Due to tobacco being such a popular yet labor-intensive crop, slavery entered
North America in this year as well. At the end of the year, 30 enslaved Africans arrived at Point Comfort, Virginia. -
King Philip's War
King Philip's War began on June 20, 1675, and was between the English colonists and the indigenous peoples of America. The colonists craved more land, and with this desire came a hatred of the natives. Three Native American warriors were tried and executed by the colonists for the murder of a colonist man. This caused decades of tensions to erupt in a year long war. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion began in 1676 by Virginian settlers who were outraged by the denial of colonial takeover of Native American Lands. The insurrection ended after only a month, but the event was the beginning of armed conflict between the settlers and the British government. -
Schenectady Massacre
The Schenectady Massacre was the slaying of nearly the entire colony of Schenectady by the French and Algonquin warriors. The Algonquin, already holding distaste for the English settlers, joined the French, who held a longstanding loathing for the English. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials, a horrific and fruitless witch hunt in the Puritan town of Salem, brought about distrust of the Massachusetts Bay government and the end of Puritanism as a strong force in Massachusetts.