-
Aug 6, 1000
Leif Ericson discovers Vinland
Eriksson sailed off course on his way back to Greenland and landed on the North American continent, where he explored a region he called Vinland. He may also have sought out Vinland based on stories of an earlier voyage by an Icelandic trader. After spending the winter in Vinland, Leif sailed back to Greenland, and never returned to North American shores. He is generally believed to be the first European to reach the North American continent, -
May 6, 1492
October 12. Columbus discovers the New World.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. On October 12, the expedition reached land, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas.He was the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland in the 10th century. -
May 6, 1507
New World named after Americus Vespucius.
was an Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer who first demonstrated that Brazil and the West Indies did not represent Asia's eastern outskirts as initially conjectured from Columbus' voyages, but instead constituted an entirely separate landmass hitherto unknown to Afro-Eurasians. Colloquially referred to as the New World, this second super continent came to be termed "America", deriving its name from Americus, the Latin version of Vespucci's first name. -
Raleigh sends first expedition to America.
In 1584 Raleigh outfitted a military expedition but did not sail with the crew. This expedition sailed first to Florida and then headed north, landing on the North Carolina coast. The new land was named Virginia after Elizabeth I, who was known as the Virgin Queen -
May 12. Founding of Jamestown, Virginia.
jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. William Kelso says Jamestown "is where the British Empire began ... this was the first colony in the British Empire.Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607 and considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610, it followed several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Jamestown served as the -
First assembly meets at Jamestown. Slaves first sold in Virginia.
The cultivation of tobacco was labor-intensive, so Virginia planters sought African slave labor to work the crop. The first local purchase of an African slave occurred in 1619. Planters originally promised freedom to African workers after a set length of indentured servitude. Although uncommon, some African Americans were able to establish themselves as free working members of the community. -
Coming of the Pilgrims in the Mayflower.
Plymouth was initially settled for religious freedom. The Pilgrims that established Plymouth were religious separatists who left Europe seeking a new home for their community. Armed with a land grant from the Virginia Company, William Bradford led a group of 102 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620. -
Maryland first settled by Calvert.
In 1632, King Charles I of England granted a charter to George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, yielding him proprietary rights to a region east of the Potomac River in exchange for a share of the income derived 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 charter granted.
The Connecticut Charter, which provided the basis for Connecticut government until 1818, was secured because of Connecticut’s realization after the restoration of Charles II to the English throne in 1660 that the government of the colony lacked any legal foundation. -
Charter granted to Rhode Island.
The charter was issued to the "Incorporation of Providence Plantations in the Narragansett Bay in New England." It gave the people power to govern themselves, but was simply a charter of incorporation and contained no land grant. After the Restoration, however, this charter granted by Parliament was not considered valid, and in 1663 Roger Williams secured from Charles II a second charter for "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," which confirmed the privileges granted by the first, -
Charter for the Carolinas granted.
Meantime Charles II had issued a charter, in 1663, granting to eight of his favorites the vast territory1 south of Virginia, and two years later the charter was enlarged and the boundaries defined and made to extend from twenty-nine degrees north latitude to thirty-six degrees thirty minutes, the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the "South Sea," or Pacific Ocean, on the west. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was another event that made the years 1675 to 1676 quite significant. Nathaniel Bacon was a colonist who owned a plantation in Jamestown. During this time the western settlers of Virginia were facing constant attacks from Indians. The Royal Governor of Virginia, William Berkeley, however did very little to put a stop to the raiding Indians. In fact Berkeley was making immense profit from trading with Indians and didn't want to jeopardize that by reacting to the colonists claims -
King Philip's War in New England.
he New England colonists were in constant contact with Indians since their arrival. Conflict was unavoidable between the two polar opposite cultures. The colonists sought to convert the Indians into Christians and attempt to civilize the "barbarians." Also, the expansion of colonies into Indian Territory was a major concern among the Indian tribes. King Phillip's War was the result of the ongoing tensions between the two cultures. Both the colonists and the Indians grew increasingly suspicious .
