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Port Royal (Nova Scotia) was established
Port Royal was established by French fur traders. -
King James makes peace with Spain
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The Virginia Company was founded
The Virginia Company was permitted to be formed by James I. -
Jamestown was founded
Englishmen discovered a peninsula that, despite poor conditions, they founded Jamestown upon. -
Henry Hudson searched for the Northwest Passage
Henry Hudson was commissioned to search for the Northwest Passage by the Dutch. He failed to find it, but nevertheless found the Hudson River and claimed New York for the Dutch. -
Santa Fe was created
The first permanent European settlement in the Southwest, Santa Fe, was established by Spain. -
Santa Fe was established
The first settlement in the South-West, Santa Fe, was established by Spain. -
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Smallpox pandemic
A lethal pandemic of smallpox wiped out almost 90 percent of New England's Native American population. -
First Virginian tobacco crop is planted
John Rolfe crossed strains from Trinidad and Guinea and planted the first tobacco crop. This crop became the economic foundation of the United States due to its popularity overseas. -
The Virginia Company establishes the House of Burgesses
The Virginia Company established the House of Burgesses, a limited representative body composed of white landowners that first met in Jamestown. -
Pilgrims founded Plymouth colony
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Dutch West India Company was chartered
The Dutch West India Company established colonies in America, Africa, and the Caribbean, with the island of Manhattan eventually being used as a base to support the Caribbean colonies and attacks on Spanish trade. -
Opechancanough attacks the Virginin colonists
Due to the rampant spread of European colonists, Opechancanough, the leader of the Powhatan confederacy, attacked them, killing over 350 colonists or one-third of all colonists in Virginia. -
Manhattan was purchased
A man named Peter Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan from the Munsee people for the Dutch. -
First slaves were imported
The first eleven enslaved people were imported by the West India Tea Company. -
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Pequot War
The Pequot war was a conflict that involved the Pequot, Narragansett, and Mohegan Native Americans, along with Dutch and Englishman. This war was over control of the fur and wampum trades in the Northeast. -
Mystic Massacre
A group of English Puritans from Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Connecticut colonies set a community of Pequot Native Americans ablaze. Those who were not consumed by the fire were cut and gunned down. This massacre was intended to wipe out the Pequot nation. It is considered a major part of the Pequot War. -
Virginia law passes that made African women tithable
Virginia passes a law that makes African women tithable, associating their work with hard manual labor. -
Virginia slave inheritance law established
Virginia passed a law that children of enslaved women inherit the status of being enslaved -
Charleston was established
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King Philip's war
This war involved the Mohegan and Wampanoag people, and English Puritans. It was triggered by the Mohegan's alliance with the Wampanoag due to their diminishing strength, which is ironic considering that the Mohegan weighted themselves towards the Puritans in the Pequot War, reaping great benefits. This war resulted in an end to Native American power in New England. -
Dominion of New England is established
The Dominion of New England was created by James II, consolidating the New England colonies, New York, and New Jersey into one administrative unit. This was a controversial action among the colonists, who valued their independent provinces. -
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Witch Trials
Salem Town, Salem Village, Ipswich, and Andover try women and men as witches. Fourteen women and six men were executed. -
Decree of Sanctuary
The Spanish king issued the Decree of Sanctuary, which provided freedom to enslaved people that escaped the English colonies, swore allegiance to Spain, and converted to Catholicism.