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Jamestown Established
Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, is established by the London Company in southeast Virginia. There are 103 settlers among them. Upon arrival, Captain John Smith is named to the governing council. -
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Thirty Years War
Religious war fought over a thirty-year time period from 1618 to 1648, involving most of the major European powers. It mainly took place in the territory of Germany. Beginning as a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire, it gradually developed into a general war involving much of Europe, for reasons not necessarily related to religion. -
Plymouth Colony Established
The Puritans begin to establish settlement in Plymouth. 41 men sign the Mayflower Compact, which established a government and legal structure. During the next winter, half of the colonists would perish. -
First Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving celebration is held in the autumn for three days between the Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe, who had helped them settle and plant the colony's land. -
Invention: Blood Transfusion
Frenchmen, Jean-Baptiste Denys invents a method for blood transfusion. -
Harvard College
Harvard College is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. -
First Book Printed in America
The first book is printed in North America, the Bay Psalm Book. -
Slavery Accepted in America
Slavery is legalized in Connecticut and recognized in the American colonies. -
Attack on Jamestown
In the last Indian rebellion in the region, Opchanacanough and the Powhatan Indians attack the English at Jamestown, but their effort is repulsed and proves unsuccessful. -
English seize New Amsterdam
Three hundred British troops seize New Netherlands from the Dutch in a peaceful takeover. The Duke of York, brother to Charles II, is granted the Dutch province and city of New Amsterdam, renaming them New York. -
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Salem Witch Hunts
The Salem witch hunts, spurred by preaching, results in the arrest of one hundred and fifty people and the death of nineteen. These trials were held in Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex counties.
