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Roanoke
The first settlement of English was Roanoke. The mayor left to go to England to request supplies and manpower. When he came back three years later the colonists had disappeared and it is unknown what happened to them. The only thing they found was the word "CROATOAN" carved into trees. -
Jamestown
The Jamestown Colony was the first permanent English settlement. It was established May 14, 1607. The success of Jamestown led to the Virginia Colony establishment. 104 English men and boys picked Jamestown to be the first permanent settlement. They named it after King James I. -
Maryland
In 1608, an English explorer named, Captain John Smith sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and mapped the shoreline. In 1632, Cecilius Calvert was granted a charter for Roman Catholics to escape the restrictions of the English church. Calverts younger brother Leonard Calvert became the governor. The settlers made peace with the Native Americans And established farms and trading posts. The most important crop was tobacco. -
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first legislative body. There were 11 settlements at the time and each settlement elected two representatives. The House of Burgesses granted supplies and originated laws. -
Mayflower/Plymouth/Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower left England with the Pilgrims in 1620. The Pilgrims settled and named the place Plymouth. The group agreed to make and follow "just and equal" laws, and called it the Mayflower compact.. -
New York
In 1609, Henry Hudson traveled up that river that was later called the Hudson. The first permanent settlement was in 1624, the Dutch established Fort Orange, and set up many trading posts. -
The Great Migration (Puritan)
In 1630, some of the Puritans left England to be able to practice their religion freely. The Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans based their colony on the rules of their God and only let members of the church settle In Massachusetts Bay. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was established in 1630. About 1,000 Puritans came from England. The Puritans had strict religious beliefs, and were often persecuted over disagreements with the Church of England. The Puritans left England and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Only the members of the church were allowed to settle there. -
Connecticut
The first European permanent settlers came in 1633, from the Massachusetts Bay colony. Trading posts were set up along the Connecticut river and the relationships between the English and the Native Americans were good. -
Rhode Island
In 1936, Roger Williams and his followers founded Providence. He had been earlier banished from the Massachusetts Colony for believing in separation of church and state. In 1663, the king of England granted them a charter to become a colony, named Rhode Island. -
Maryland Toleration Act
The governor at the time in Maryland, Governor Calvert, welcomed Roman Catholics and non-Catholic Christian. Calvert, In 1649, Maryland passed the Act Concerning Religion. The Act Concerning Religion granted freedom of worship to all Christians. This was the first toleration act in America. -
Carolina
The Carolina colony was established in 1663. A grant from King Charles II created Carolina. Political disagreements between the North part and South part of Carolina made them separate, in 1712. The Carolinas were a part of the Southern colonies. -
Bacon’s Rebellion
In 1676, a man named Nathaniel Bacon wanted rights to be equal between landowners and plantation class. Bacon organized raids against the governor and destroyed Jamestown. In the same year, Bacon died of dysentery and the rebellion collapsed. -
Pennsylvania
In 1681, King Charles II granted Pennsylvania to William Penn to start a new colony. Penn was a Quaker, they were punished in England for their religious beliefs. Penn established the colony as a safe place of more Quakers to came and settle. -
Salem Witch Trials
In 1692 to 1693, investigations caused 19 suspected "witches" to be hung. More suspects were imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay colony. -
Great Awakening/Enlightenment
The Great Awaking was a religious movement in the British colonies. Protestant Christian preachers thought that good behavior was more important than bible reading and school. Traveling preachers spread the movement through the colonies and preached in fields because the crowd was so big. The Enlightenment began in Europe in the 1700's, and spread all over the world. The people who believed in the enlightenment thought that the royal leaders and Roman Catholic Church has too much power. -
Albany Plan
The Albany Congress was to discuss plans for war with France. The war with France was about to begin, so the colonists agreed to a union of the colonies. That was the Albany Plan. The congress passed the plan but it never went into effect. Benjamin Franklin came up with a cartoon to rally the colonies. See picture for more. -
French-Indian War
The French-Indian War lasted from 1754 to 1763. The French and Indian War began over if the British or the French got the upper Ohio River valley. The French allied with Indians but the British won the war, taking control of most of the colonies in North America. -
The Proclamation of 1763
In 1763, the British king made a decree to manage Great Britain's lands. Britain had recently won the French and Indian War, and won land from French. The Proclamation of 1763 prohibited British colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains, this was so that they could control the land better. -
Salutary Neglect
The Salutary Neglect was an unofficial policy made by the British government. The policy let the North American colonies be on their own with little to no British interference. It was in practice from the late 1600's to the mid- 1700's.