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Roanoke
In 1587, 100 men, woman, and children settled on Roanoke Island under the leadership of John White. Soon after, White returned to England to gather more supplies, leaving behind his family and granddaughter, who was the first European born in America. It took white nearly 3 years to return, and when he arrived, he found the settlement deserted. The only clue left behind was the word "CROATOAN" carved into a tree.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/roanoke-colony-deserted -
Jamestown
In 1607, the Virginia Company of London established a colony along the coast of Virginia. The colony got off to a rough start--only 38 of the 150 settlers survived the first winter. John Smith emerged as Jamestown's leader, He declared that those who didn't work wouldn't eat. The Virginia Company offered free land to people who settled in Jamestown. In !612, John Rolfe and his wife, Pocahontas, experimented with growing tobacco and it became Virginia's first profitable export.
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Salutary Neglect
Salutary Neglect was Britain's unofficial policy, initiated by prime minister Robert Walpole, to relax the enforcement of strict regulations, particularly trade laws, imposed on the American colonies late in seventeenth and early in the eighteenth centuries.
(https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Salutary_Neglect) -
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first legislative assembly in the American colonies. The first assembly met on July 30, 1619, in the church at Jamestown. Present were Governor Yeardley, Council, and 22 burgesses representing 11 plantations (or settlements) Burgesses were elected representatives and only white men who owned a specific amount of property were eligible to vote for Burgesses.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/2f.asp -
Great Puritan Migration
In September of 1620, the separatists traveled to the New World on a rented cargo ship called the Mayflower and landed off the coast of Massachusetts in November, where they established Plymouth Colony, the first colony in New England. This event marks the beginning of the Great Puritan Migration.
https://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-great-puritan-migration/ -
Mayflower/Plymouth/Mayflower Compact
In 1620, the Pilgrims settled the Plymouth Colony, and set sail aboard the Mayflower. The Mayflower Compact was the first self government plan in the colonies. The Pilgrims settled by the Wampanoag people and soon met Squanto, an English speaker, who helped them communicate and mediate with the tribal leaders. Squanto helped the leaders grow corn and a establish a treaty. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated their first Harvest (Thanksgiving).
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New York
Settled by the Dutch in 1624. The area was called New Netherland and New York City was call New Amsterdam. Between 1652-1674 the Dutch and British fought 3 naval wars. In 1664, the British sent a naval fleet to seize New Netherlands and the Dutch surrendered without a fight. The territory was renamed for the Duke of York, the brother of King Charles II who received a charter for the territory. In 1673, the Dutch recaptured the area, but it was quickly returned to the British.
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Massachusetts Bay Colony
In 1630, the Puritans settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony, with a charter granted to them by King Charles I. They were led by Governor John Winthrop who believed, "We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of the people are on us." -
Maryland
Maryland was a Southern Colony, settled by Lord Baltimore in !632. He was a Catholic who convinced King Charles I to grant him 100 million acres for persecuted Catholics to settle. Baltimore died before he was able to do anything with the land. His son, Cecil Calvert, took over managing the colony. he offered 100 acres to every married couple who settled in Maryland. Protestants took advantage of his offer and this Catholic haven became mostly Protestant.
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Rhode Island
Rhode Island was a New England Colony, settled by Roger Williams. Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for speaking out against government authorities punishing religios dissention and against the confiscation of Native American land. He founded Rhode Island where there was no religious persecution of Christians.
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Connecticut
The Connecticut Colony was one of the four New England Colonies. It was founded in 1636 by a colonist named Thomas Hooker. The name Connecticut came from an Indian word meaning 'river whose water is driven by tides or winds'. The Connecticut Colony was an English colony until 1776 when it joined the rest of the colonies in the rebellion to gain independence from Great Britain. http://www.softschools.com/facts/13_colonies/connecticut_colony_facts/2034/ -
Maryland Toleration Act
The Toleration Act of 1649 granted religious freedom to all Christians living in Maryland.
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Carolina
Carolina was a Southern Colony, settled by the supporters of King Charles II in 1663. With easy access to the trade in the West Indies, people settled in the Carolinas to grow cash crops like Rice, Indigo, and Tobacco. These labor intensive crops required a huge labor force. By 1720, African slaves outnumbered European settlers in the Carolinas 2:1. In 1729, Carolina became a Royal Colony and was split into North and South Carolina.
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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. -
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania was a Middle Colony, settled by William Penn in 1682. Penn established the colony as a "Holy Experiment," a place without a landowning aristocracy where every male settler received 50 acres and the right to vote. In 1660s, William Penn became a Quaker and his colony soon became a haven for Quakers.
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Salem Witch Trials
When young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused some local woman of witchcraft, a wave of hysteria swept through the area. 150 people were imprisoned for witchcraft, 7 people died in prison, 19 men and women were found guilty and hung, and 1 person was crushed to death for refusing to testify. the hysteria ended in September 1692 with public opinion turning against the trials.
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Great Awakening/Enlightenment
The Great Awakening of 1720-1745 was a period of intense religious revivalism that spread throughout the American colonies. The movement deemphasized the higher authority of church doctrine and instead put greater importance on the individual and his or her spiritual experience.
(https://www.thoughtco.com/great-awakening-of-early-18th-century-104594) -
The Albany Plan
The Plan was a proposal made at the Albany Congress back in 1754 aimed at a formation of a strong union of the colonies under one single government and direction. The need was justified because of the necessity for defense against the threats and consequences posed by the infamous French and Indian War. It was proposed by Benjamin Franklin, and was among the many plans presented by the delegates that participated in the Albany Congress.
(http://totallyhistory.com/albany-plan-of-union/) -
French-Indian War
The French and Indian War, a colonial extension of the Seven Years War that ravaged Europe from 1756 to 1763, was the bloodiest American war in the 18th century. The war was the product of an imperial struggle, a clash between the French and English over colonial territory and wealth. Within these global forces, the war can also be seen as a product of the localized rivalry between British and French colonists.
(https://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/frenchindian/summary/) -
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.
(https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/1763-p
roclamation-of)
