-
Jamestown is Established
Jamestown was founded by the London company and was the first permanent English settlement in America. The settlement was financed and run by the Virginia Company. This company was financed by private investors, who expected the colonists to give a return on their investment by making a route to East Asia. -
Period: to
A Cold Harsh Winter
The winter in Jamestown was so harsh that it caused a huge food shortage. Two out of every three colonists died during that winter from either food shortages, fractured leadership, or a siege by Powhatan Indian warriors. -
The First Slaves in Jamestown
The first slaves were brought over by the Dutch as 20 African slaves were brought ashore in the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia. The crew had seized the Africans from the Portuguese slave ship, Sao Jao Bautista. -
Period: to
The House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses is established as the first representative assembly in America. This democratically elected legislative body was the first of its kind in English North America. -
Plymouth is Established
The Plymouth Colony was America's first permanent Puritan settlement, which was established by English Separatist Puritans. The Pilgrims left England to seek religious freedom, or simply to find a better life so they left to establish 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. Fouty-one adult men signed the Mayflower Compact and nine men did not sign the compact. -
The Navigation Act of 1651
The Navigation Act was aimed primarily at the Dutch and it required all trade between England and the colonies to be carried in English or colonial vessels. These requirements resulted in the Anglo-Dutch War a year later. -
New Netherlands Becomes New York
The English sent a fleet to seize New Netherlands and the people of the Netherlands surrendered. After they won, the English renamed the colony, New York, after James, the Duke of York, who had received a charter for the territory from his brother King Charles II. One source of tension was the Duke of York's refusal to permit a representative assembly, which was not established until 1683. -
Period: to
The Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution took place when James II was overthrown by his daughter Mary ll and her husband William of Orange in 1688. It was also known as the bloodless revolution because the dispute was solved with verbal communication instead of a battle or war. -
Massachusetts Starts a Trend
Massachusetts was the first state to use paper money.