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Roanoke
In 1587 a small colony was founded on an island off the eastern coast of North America. The settlement would have been the first permanent English colony in the New World, had the settlers not disappeared owing to unknown circumstances. In the settlement’s difficult founding year, its mayor, John White, left for England to request resources and manpower. He returned three years later only to find the settlement empty. The word CROATOAN and the letters CRO, carved into trees. -
Jamestown
Jamestown Colony was the first permanent English settlement in North America, located near present-day Williamsburg, Virginia. Established on May 14, 1607, the colony gave England its first foothold in the European competition for the New World, which had been dominated by the Spanish since the voyages of Christopher Columbus in the late 15th century. -
Salutary Neglect
Salutary neglect, policy of the British government from the early to mid-18th century regarding its North American colonies under which trade regulations for the colonies had imperial supervision of internal colonial affairs was loose as long as the colonies remained loyal to the British government . This “salutary neglect” contributed involuntarily to the increasing autonomy of colonial legal and legislative institutions, which ultimately led to American independence. -
House of Burgesses
House of Burgesses, representative assembly in colonial Virginia, which was an outgrowth of the first elective governing body of the General Assembly of Virginia. The General Assembly was established by Gov. George Yeardley at Jamestown on July 30, 1619. It included the governor himself along with two elected burgesses (delegates) from each of the colony’s 11 settlements. The assembly met in Jamestown until 1700, when meetings were moved to Williamsburg. -
Great Migration of the Puritans
The Great Puritan Migration was a period in the 17th century during which English puritans migrated to New England, the Chesapeake and the West Indies. English migration to Massachusetts consisted of a few hundred pilgrims who went to Plymouth Colony. They left England primarily due to religious persecution but also for economic reasons as well. England was in religious turmoil in the early 17th century, the religious climate was hostile and threatening, especially towards the Puritans. -
Mayflower/Plymouth/Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was a set of rules for self-governance established by the English settlers who traveled to the New World on the Mayflower. Pilgrims and other settlers set out on the ship for America in 1620. Knowing life without laws could prove catastrophic, colonist leaders created the Mayflower Compact to ensure a functioning social structure would prevail. -
New York
Originally occupied by dutch settlers, New York was completely taken over by the English in 1674. While under Dutch control New York was called New Amsterdam. The New York colony became a state on July 26, 1788. The New York colony was founded by Peter Minuit in 1626 on Manhattan Island. -
Maryland Toleration Act
The Maryland Toleration Act, also known as the Act Concerning Religion, was a law mandating religious tolerance for Trinitarian Christians. It was passed on April 21, 1649, by the assembly of the Maryland colony, in St. Mary's City. Specifically, the bill, now usually referred to as the Toleration Act, granted freedom of conscience to all Christians.[ -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (more formally The Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 1628–1692) was an English settlement on the east coast of America in the 17th century around the Massachusetts Bay, The lands of the settlement were located in southern New England. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the owners of the Massachusetts Bay Company. -
Maryland
In 1632, King Charles I of England granted a charter to George Calvert yielding him proprietary rights to a region east of the Potomac River in exchange for a share of the income from the land. The territory was named Maryland in honor of Henrietta Maria, the queen consort of Charles I. Before settlement began, George Calvert died and was succeeded by his son Cecilius, who sought to establish Maryland as a haven for Roman Catholics persecuted in England. -
Connecticut
The Connecticut Colony was founded in 1636 by Thomas Hooker and other colonists, at Hartford. The Connecticut Colony was one of the original 13 colonies located on the Atlantic coast of North America. The Province of Connecticut was an English colony in North America that existed from 1636 until 1776, when it joined the other 12 of the 13 colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Connecticut. -
Rhode Island
Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams in 1636, who had been banished from the Massachusetts colony for his advocacy of religious tolerance and the separation of church and state.During the colonial period, Newport was a major hub for shipping and trade, and in the 19th century Rhode Island was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution and the establishment of textile mills. -
Carolina
The Province of Carolina was an English and later a British colony of North America. Carolina was founded in what is present-day North Carolina. Sir Robert Heath was granted the Cape Fear region of America, incorporated as the Province of Carolana, in 1629. The charter was ruled invalid, and a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, on March 24, 1663. In 1669, the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina divided the colony of Carolina into two provinces, -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. His grievances against the governor stemmed from particularly leaving Bacon out of his inner circle and refusing to allow Bacon to take part in fur trading with Native Americans. Attacks by the Doeg people incited the popular uprising against Berkeley, who had failed to address the demands of the colonists regarding their safety. -
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Colony was classified as one of the Middle Colonies. The Province of Pennsylvania was an English colony in North America that existed from 1682 until 1776, when it joined the other 12 of the 13 colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Colony was founded in 1682 by William Penn and other colonists. King Charles II of England specified in the charter given to William Penn that the name should be Pennsylvania. -
Salem Witch Trial
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. More than 200 people were accused, 19 of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging (14 women and 5 men). It was the deadliest witch hunt in the history of colonial North America.Twelve other women had previously been executed in Massachusetts and Connecticut during the 17th century. -
Great Awakening/Enlightenment
The Great Awakening was a religious revival that impacted the English colonies in America during the 1730s and 1740s. The movement came at a time when a passion for religion had grown stale. Christian leaders often traveled from town to town, preaching about the gospel, emphasizing salvation from sins and promoting enthusiasm for Christianity. The result was a renewed dedication toward religion. Many historians believe the Great Awakening had a l impact on various Christian and American cultures -
French-Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, each side supported by military units from the parent country and by American Indian allies. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on the Indians. -
Albany Plan
The Albany Plan of Union was a plan to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, suggested by Benjamin Franklin, then a senior leader (age 48) and a delegate from Pennsylvania, at the Albany Congress on July 10, 1754 in Albany, New York. More than twenty representatives of several Northern Atlantic colonies had gathered to plan their defense related to the French and Indian War. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the British at the end of the French and Indian War to appease Native Americans by checking the encroachment of European settlers on their lands. It created a boundary, known as the proclamation line, separating the British colonies on the Atlantic coast from American Indian lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.
