-
Aug 3, 1492
Columbus “discovers” the new world for Spain
Columbus led three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, out of the Spanish port of Palos on August 3, 1492. His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia where the riches of gold, pearls, and spice awaited him. -
Aug 13, 1519
Hernan Cortés defeats the Aztecs
Hernan Cortés invaded Mexico in 1519 and conquered the Aztec Empire, claiming that land for Spain. -
Jamestown is founded
The Virginia Company of England set sail for the new, mysterious land. They established Jamestown which became the first successful English colony in North America. -
Period: to
The “Starving Time” in Jamestown
-
Plymouth is founded
Plymouth Colony, America's first permanent Puritan settlement, was established by English Separatist Puritans in December of 1620. The Pilgrims left England to seek religious freedom and to find a better life. -
Mayflower Compact is signed
The Mayflower Compact was a document signed on the English ship Mayflower on November 21, 1620, prior to its landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the United States. -
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament that imposed restrictions on colonial trade. -
New Amsterdam becomes New York
Following its capture, New Amsterdam's name was changed to New York, in honor of the Duke of York, who organized the mission. -
Period: to
King Phillip´s War
-
Bacon´s Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. -
Salem Witchcraft Trials
The Salem Witchcraft Trials were a series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted “witches” to be hanged and many other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. -
Stono Rebellion
The Stono Rebellion was a slave rebellion in the colony of South Carolina. It was the largest slave uprising in the British colonies, with 25 colonists and 35 to 50 Africans killed. -
Period: to
French and Indian War
-
Ben Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union
Franklin's plan called for the formation of a permanent federation of colonies, as a means to reform colonial-imperial relations, and to more effectively address shared colonial interests. -
Treaty of 1763
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War or Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France. France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 prohibited American colonists from settling west of Appalachian Mountains. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on all American colonists, requiring them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. -
England passes the Quartering Act
The Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies. The colonists disputed the legality of this Act because it seemed to violate the Bill of Rights of 1689. -
The Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed by the British government on the American colonies in 1767. They placed new taxes and took away some freedoms from the colonists including new taxes on imports of paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight between a patriot mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company, into the harbor -
The 1st Continental Congress convenes
The Congress issued a Declaration of Rights, affirming its loyalty to the British Crown but disputing the British Parliament's right to tax it. -
The “shot heard ‘round the world”
"The shot heard round the world" is a phrase that refers to the opening shot of the Battle of Concord in 1775, which began the American Revolutionary War. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
-
Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
-
Rhode Island is founded
-
Maryland is founded
-
Deceleration of Independence is signed
-
1st Thanksgiving
-
Battle of Saratoga
-
The Articles of Confederation are implemented
-
Battle of Yorktown
-
Treaty of 1783
-
Period: to
Shays Rebellion
-
Constitutional/Philadelphia Convention gathers
-
The Northwest Ordinance was established
-
Pennsylvania is founded
-
Connecticut is founded
-
The Constitution is ratified
-
George Washington inaugurated as first president
-
Period: to
Whiskey Rebellion
-
Jay´s Treaty is signed
-
Treaty of Greenville
-
Pinckney´s Treaty
-
Period: to
XYZ Affair
-
Period: to
John Adams becomes 2nd President
-
Period: to
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were passed
-
The Alien and Sedition Acts are passed
-
Period: to
Quasi-War
-
Period: to
Thomas Jefferson becomes the 3rd President
-
The Louisiana Purchase
-
The Supreme Court rules on Marbury v. Madison
-
Chesapeake Affair
-
Embargo Act of 1807
-
Period: to
James Madison becomes 4th president
-
Congress declares war on England
-
Treaty of Ghent
-
Battle of New Orleans
