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Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus sailed to the Bahamas.
Christopher Columbus was actually trying to find a new route to Asia when he stumbled upon this "New World". If Christopher hadn't of accidentally found the Americas they would've most likely been found by another explorer but the history of the Americas would be completely different. The native Americans would have had more time to modernize and maybe even become a well established community as a whole. The Europeans would have continued to struggle with economic and religious issues. -
Oct 31, 1517
The Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther protested against the Catholic Church at Wittenberg's cathedral in 1517. This event sparked the idea of "Protestant Reformation". After hearing this, many people tried to reform the Church of England but failed and were then discriminated against. Many migrated to America in hope of religious freedom. They created settlements that had laws, education, self government, and religous practices. These people created the basis of American life and planted roots for the future. -
England defeats Spain in the Spanish Armada
The Spanish were very successful at colonization. Their economy boosted and they had many riches. At the same time England was struggling to make successful colonies so Spain decidedd to invade England. England defeated Spain. This marked the end of Spains glory and the beginning of Englands. England was then the ruler of the North Atlantic and could fight back Spain in the Americas due to Spains lack of spirit. The English had a greater sense of nationalism which contirbuted to colonization. -
Jamestown was founded
Three ships, sent by the Virginia Company, landed on Americas' east coast and chose to settle along the James River after being attacked by Indians farther down south. Jamestown was the first successful English settlement in North America. Jamestown led to many other colonies being established in North America. If Jamestown was never established then North America may have turned out very differently due to the possibility of another country settling here or other factors along those lines. -
Creation of the Dominion of New England
The Dominion of New England was created to strengthen the colonial defense against Indians and to monitor the new laws placed on the colonists by England. The main laws that needed supervision were the Navigational laws. These laws increased colonial rivalries and increased the amount of smugglers. The leader, Andros, put restrictions on the courts, prerss, and schools. All of these issues upset the colonists and pushed them to a revolution. -
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The French and Indian War (Seven Years war)
The colonies defeated France in North America due to England's large contributions of money to the war force, which put England in debt but gave them control over North America. In result of Englands' downfall the British Parliment placed heavy taxes on the colonists. Many acts were passed, including the Navigation Acts, which only allowed colonists to trade with England. The colonists were outraged at England because of the prices of things and lack of income. This pushed colonists to revolt. -
Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation of 1763 prevented colonists from settling and maintaining settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains in order to prevent conflicts with the Indians. There were also several regulations created to protect the Indians rights. This upset the colonists because they had just won a war to claim that land and England just gave it to the Natives. This was a crucial event in our history being that it pushed colonists to revolt against England which led to the American Revolution. -
The Boston Massacre
A group of British soliders open fired on a group of colonists. Five colonists were shot and killed, eleven were wounded. This event caused even more distrust towards England from the colonies The colonists were appalled that the soliders used their guns to kill people against orders...again. Ten days before the massacre an eleven year old boy was shot and killed by a British solider. These occurrences, mainly the Boston Massacre, pushed the colonists further toward their want for independence. -
The Declaratioin of Independence
Thomas Jefferson wrote that King George III infringed upon the colonists "natural rights" by imposing taxes without the colonists consent, omitting trial by jury, terminating valued laws, creating an over powering military, cutting of trade, and causing fighting among peoples. This event widened the gap between the Loyalists and the Patriots, which led to the American Revolution. -
The U.S Constitution was written and signed
The constitution set the stage for a new way of life in North America. The constitution created a federal organization. The governments power was to be divided into branches so that no single person had control over the entire country. The government had checks and balances. The constitution listed the rights of the Americans and was considered "the Law of the Land". This event paved the ways of life that we still live by to this day.
