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Jamestown
The first permanent British colony in America is established in Virginia. -
The Hudson Expedition
Henry Hudson leads an expedition to fight the Northwest Passage, and ventures down the Hudson River to the Great Lakes, where he is eventually killed via a mutiny. -
Tobacco is first introduced as a cash crop
Colonists in Jamestown obtain and begin to plant and harvest native tobacco in Virginia. It will soon become a major cash crop that will directly contribute to the expansion of colonization. -
Period: to
Jamestown nearly dies out due to widespread starvation
During that winter of 1609-1610, nearly 440 settlers of Jamestown die because of what is known as Starving Time -
The House of Burgess meets
The first representative body in America meets for the first time in Virginia. -
The first slaves arrive in North America
The first African slaves were brought to Jamestown by Dutch traders. -
The Mayflower Compact
The earliest Plymouth Colony document known as the Mayflower Compact is signed. It is a document containing the colony's laws, religious beliefs, etc. -
Plymouth
The Plymouth Colony is established in Massachusetts by the Pilgrims from England after arriving on the ship, the Mayflower. -
The First Thanksgiving
The Pilgrims, after their first successful growing season, have a multiday-long celebration of feasting and games. The Indians, who had helped them survive, turn out en mass to join in. -
Harvard is founded
Harvard College in Massachusetts is founded. -
Slavery becomes legal
New England makes Slavery legal. -
New York
The British seized New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renamed it New York after the Duke of York. -
Rhode Island makes slavery illegal
Rhode Island passes the first laws in the colonies that makes the practice of slavery illegal within its state, making it the first state to abolish slavery. -
Indian attacks on British colonies
Earliest attacks against Colonists begins King Philip’s War. -
Pennsylvannia
The colony of Pennsylvania is established by William Penn, a Quaker owed land by the king of Britain. -
The Salem Witch Trials
Religious fervour and paranoia of witchcraft in Massacheutts Purtian village of Salem results in the false executions and deaths of about two dozen people, most being women.