-
Mar 25, 1524
Founding of Maryland
John Cabot claimed Maryland for England. Giovanni de Verazzanno claimed Maryland for the king of France.England won that battle of wills. Apparently it was already Spanish territory, though, because they had already called dibs on the CHesapeake Bay. -
Roanoke Colony Founded
This is known as the lost colony because all the settlers disappeared and no one knows what happened. Founded by England. -
Founding of Virginia Colony
It was founded by the Virginia Company for England. It was named for the VIrgin queen Elizabeth, who had a three year love affair and a lot of other scandals. Somehow the nickname stuck. -
Founding of Jamestown
Founded by the English. (Virginia Company) It was selected for its strategic location and the fact that no Indians lived nearby. It was a swamp. It suffered until they planted tobacco. -
Founding of Kebec (Quebec)
Samuel de Champlain made a colony (French) just slightly North of an already existing one (Tadoussac) so that he could be just slightly better than they were at trading furs. Its name roughly means "where the river narrows". -
Founding of New Amsterdam (Aka New York City)
Started as a beaver fur trading post by the Dutch. Was very diverse from an early time. It was basically designed to be a big city, what with its prime location and harbors. Later Stolen by Englishmen who named it New York. -
Founding of Massachusetts
102 Pilgrims got off of the Mayflower. They claimed the land in the name of the Virginia Company. This was by Cape Cod. -
Founding of Maine (part of Massachusetts)
Originally part of Massachusets, didn't become a separate state until after the war between the states. -
Powhatan Confederation Attack
This was an attack made by a confederation of 12 Virginian Native tribes on Jamestown,Virginia, killing 347 people and capturing women and children -
Founding of New Netherlands (Aka New Jersey)
Originally Settled by the Dutch, stolen by the Duke of York, who renamed it "New Jersey". -
Founding of New Hampshire
Captain John Mason named this colony after his home country.Imagine if people had been as creative with names as people are today. It might be called something awesome.
It was a fishing villiage. -
John Locke was born in Wrington
He's known as the father of classical librealism, meaning he would probably be a republican today if he were here, most likely. He was a British philosopher and physician (people doctor). He came up with the theory of the mind, and was one of the sources the Declaration of Independence pulled from to argue its case. -
Founding of Connecticut
This was seen as a haven for Puritan noblemen. Apparently a lot of people suffered from religious persecution. Bummer.
It was originally known as the River Colony. -
Rhode Island
Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts for religious reasons, so he made a city called Providence, where he allowed all religions. Anne Hutchinson made a city called Portsmouth in the same area, presumably because it was at the mouth of a port. -
Founding of New Sweeden (Aka Delaware)
Founded by the Dutch. later stolen by Englishmen. It was later the first state to ratify the constitution. -
Navigation Acts
Banned colonies from trading with countries other than Europe. The Black Market became a way of life for anyone who wanted quality goods. -
Founding of North Carolina
Some Virginians ended up settling a little too far South of the border of the official colony, so instead of getting them off of the land that was rightfully not theirs, the king of England just wrote a new charter for the land south of VIrginia. Bam. North Carolina (Only then it was just called Carolina) -
Founding of South Carolina
Carolina had what might be called a civil war, but it was just a colony so the best it could manage was a skirmish. To preserve the relative peace, it was split into North and South Carolina(s). -
King Philip's War
Metacom's war
King Philip was an indian ruler. He may or may not have approved of the first attack in this war, but apparently when a full lunar eclipse occurred, it was seen as a good omen to attack New England. That triggered a war between the New England Confederation and the Narraganset tribe.It ended with King philip being beheaded.
Ended 12 August 1676 -
Bacon's Rebellion
Farmers' rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon against the corrupt government in Jamestown, Virginia because the Governor refused to protect them from Indian attacks. -
Founding of Pennsylvania
Sir William Penn was granted a charter by the king of England. He named his colony after himself and gave it religious freedom so that he wouldn't still be persecuted for not being Anglican. -
Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu was born in la Brede.
He was French. He was a philosopher. He wrote a lot of books. The American constitution was partially based off of his philosophies. He was cool. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, began when three girls accuse various women of making demons possess them. 19 people were hanged and one man was stoned, all for being witches. They ended in May of 1693. -
John Locke died in Essex
He said that knowledge is only gained through perception and that there is no such thing as an innate idea (instinctual). He said that the self must be defined through a flow of conciousness. He was the son of a lawyer. -
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.
He was awesome. He really liked French chicks. He made bifocals and flew electric kites. He was an inventor, a politician, and for some reason he wanted the national bird to be a turkey. -
Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva.
Swiss Philosopher. Many of his philosophies were used in the writing of the American constitution. -
The Enlightenment
Increased political awareness and religious tolerance among colonists. A lot of the colonists converted to deism. Democracy, republicanism, and liberty were subjects of heightened interest. People tried to back up their claims on religion with science, which led to discoveries in various fields and heightened awareness of human nature. These discoveries led away from prophecy and miracles and towards thought and reasoning. -
The Great Awakening
Johnathan Edwards was one of the first ministers to spur what is called The (First) Great Awakening. It began in Northampton, Massachusetts and spread as far as New Jersey. The awakening revived religious belief in the colonies that had been pushed under the table because of the Enlightenment. It included such sermons as "Sinners in the hands of an angry God" and was one of the first things to unify the colonies. -
Founding of Georgia
James Oglethorpe was given a charter by the English King to make a colony. James Oglethorpe founded Savannah. James Oglethorpe really liked squares. That led to traffic problems 280 years later. -
Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu died in Paris.
He thought up the separation of state powers into three branches and classifying the systems of government based on their principles. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau died in Ermenonville.
This man wrote the first modern autobiography and SEVEN operas. He thought of popular soverignty.Nobody but Benjamin Franklin has ever been cooler than that. He was a Freemason, just like Ben Franklin. -
Benjamin Franklin died in Philadelphia.
Seriously, Benjamin Franklin was awesome.Why was this man not President? People still read the Poor Richard's Almanac. He owned a Print shop and was one of the Founding Fathers. He made the first American political cartoon.
I want to be Benjamin Franklin when I grow up.
