-
Founding of Jamestown
In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
First African Slaves
In late August, 1619, 20-30 enslaved Africans landed at Point Comfort, today's Fort Monroe in Hampton, Va., aboard the English privateer ship White Lion. In Virginia, these Africans were traded in exchange for supplies. -
Pilgrims landed at Plymouth
The Pilgrims were the English settlers who came to North America on the Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony -
Jamestown Massacre
This event took place in the English Colony of Virginia, in what is now the United States. The cause of this was the tobacco economy. -
Boston Founded
Officially founded in 1630 by English Puritans who fled to the new land to pursue religious freedom, Boston is considered by many to be the birthplace of the American Revolution. -
First Public Opera House Opened
In 1637, the Teatro San Cassiano gave public opera to the world. -
First Navigation Act passed
In 1651, the British Parliament, in the first of what became known as the Navigation Acts, declared that only English ships would be allowed to bring goods into England, and that the North American colonies could only export its commodities, such as tobacco and sugar, to England. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native Americans out of Virginia. -
King Williams War
King William's War, also known as the Second Indian War and the First French and Indian War, was an armed conflict between England and France in North America in the 17th century. The war was a battle over control of North America, particularly over the fur trade in North America. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. -
House of Burgesses
The Virginia Slave Codes of 1705 (formally entitled An act concerning Servants and Slaves), were a series of laws enacted by the Colony of Virginia's House of Burgesses in 1705 regulating the interactions between slaves and citizens of the crown colony of Virginia. -
Invention of the Steam Engine
In about 1712,Thomas Newcomen developed a more efficient steam engine with a piston separating the condensing steam from the water after Thomas Savery in 1698. -
Expansion in China
The Han dynasty marked the height of early Chinese expansionism. Under the Han dynasty, China managed to conquer northern Korea and northern Vietnam, annexing several parts of these territories in the process. -
Seven Years War
The Seven Years' War was a global conflict involving most of the major European powers and many smaller European states. The war was driven by the commercial and imperial rivalry between Britain and France, and by the antagonism between Prussia (allied to Britain) and Austria (allied to France). -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were abusing them verbally and throwing various missiles. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. -
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence states three basic ideas: 1. God made all men equal and gave them the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 2. The main business of the government is to protect these rights. 3. If a government tries to withhold these rights, the people are free to revolt and to set up a new government. -
French Revolution Begins
The French Revolution began in 1789 and lasted until 1794. King Louis XVI needed more money, but had failed to raise more taxes when he had called a meeting of the Estates General. This instead turned into a protest about conditions in France. -
Thomas Jefferson is elected President
Thomas Jefferson is elected the third president of the United States. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. -
Congress Declares War on England
On June 17, 1812, the Senate approved a House-passed resolution declaring war with Great Britain. -
English Forces Burn the Whitehouse
On August 24, 1814, as the War of 1812 raged on, invading British troops marched into Washington and set fire to the U.S. Capitol, the President's Mansion, and other local landmarks. -
Florida is Purchased from Spain
In the treaty Spain gave East and West Florida to the United States, and the United States agreed to assume claims by citizens of the United States against Spain. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is the best known U.S. policy toward the Western Hemisphere. The doctrine warns European nations that the United States would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs. -
U.S.- Mexican War
This was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. -
Japan Opens its Boarders
Japan’s isolation policy had been in place since 1639 and banned anyone from entering and leaving the country, under penalty of death, as well as severely restricting trade and foreign relations. American ships arrived in 1854 and demanded Japan sign a treaty agreeing to trade and peace, and with that, during the 19th century, the policy was finally lifted. -
Abraham Lincoln is Elected President
Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States over a deeply divided Democratic Party, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. -
Slavery Abolished in the US
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect in December 1865, 7 months after the end of the war, and finally ended slavery throughout the United States.
