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Period: to
1600-1700
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James Town Founded
James Town was the first English colony founded. Named after King James I, the colony was founded in Virginia because of the surrounding waters on 3 sides. The colonist liked this because they could tie their ships at the shore line, the water also gave them protection against any possible attacks from the Spanish. -
Start of the 30 year War
Protestants revolt against Catholic oppression; Denmark, Sweden, and France will invade Germany in later phases of war. Kepler proposes last of three laws of planetary motion. -
First African Slaves
Slavery began in American when 20 African slaved were brought to Jamestown by the Dutch. Throughout the 17th century the colonist started using them more for faster, cheaper labor. -
Arrival at Plymouth
Mayflower arrived in New England after a voyage of 66 days. Although the Pilgrims had originally intended to settle near the Hudson River in New York, dangerous shoals and poor winds forced the ship to seek shelter at Cape Cod. -
Massachusetts Bay Founded
Massachusetts Bay Colony is one of the original English settlements in present-day Massachusetts, founded in 1628 and settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees from England. -
First Navigation Act Passed
The Navigation Acts were a series of laws designed to restrict England’s carrying trade to English ships in the 17th and 18th centuries. Their efforts were to put the theory of mercantilism (the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances) into actual practice. In 1651 the First Navigation Act was passed. -
Bacons Rebellion
Bacon’s Rebellion was the first full-scale armed insurrection in Colonial America pitting the landowner Nathaniel Bacon and his supporters of black and white indentured servants against his Governor William Berkeley and the wealthy plantation owners of Virginia. The conflict began over the distribution of land rights and Bacon’s proposal to remove the Native Americans who still lived in the region. Bacon died of dysentery after burning Jamestown and the rebellion was crushed by Berkeley. -
The Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution (“The Bloodless Revolution") involved the overthrow of King James II, who was replaced by his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. Motives for the revolution were both political and religious. This Revolution took place in England -
King William's War
King William’s War was between France and England for supremacy in North America. The main goal was the control of all the fur trade. King William's War was the first of the French and Indian Wars. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging. -
Period: to
1700-1800
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The War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European conflict triggered by the death of Charles II of Spain -
Mass expansion in China
Throughout the 18th century, Qianlong steadied the economy, expanded the country’s borders, and oversaw the population almost treble. Culturally, he improved Chinese literacy and eased regional tensions that had previously splintered the country, redefining it as a multiethnic nation. A skilled military leader, Qianlong conquered many neighboring nations, leading the Qing dynasty to its peak in 1790 as one of the largest Empires in history. -
Seven Year's War
Britain and Prussia defeat France, Spain, Austria, and Russia. France loses North American colonies, Spain gives Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. -
The beginning of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began when agricultural societies became more industrialized and urban. The railroad, the cotton gin, electricity and other inventions permanently changed society -
James Watt invents the Steam Engine
James Watt was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved the steam engine with his Watt steam engine. This made a huge impact to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both Great Britain and the rest of the world. -
James Cook explores the Pacific
James Cook set off aboard the HMS Endeavour in 1768, on what would become the first of three major voyages. Rounding Cape Horn, he reached Tahiti in 1769, then went on to explore vast reaches of the uncharted ocean, finding various islands and claiming them all for the British. Later that year, Cook and his crew reached New Zealand, mapping the coast, before continuing on to Australia in 1790, claiming the East coast for Britain and naming it New South Wales. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot that occurred on March 5, 1770. It took place on King Street in Boston. It began as a street brawl between American colonists and a British soldier. It quickly escalated to a bloody slaughter. The conflict energized anti-Britain sentiment and paved the way for the American Revolution. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. The American colonists were very frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” therefore they dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor. This event was the first major act of opposition to British rule over the colonists. -
The Declaration of Independence is approved
The Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence. It was written by Jefferson in Philadelphia on July 4, a date now celebrated as the birth of American independence. -
The French Revolution begins
The French Revolution was a turning point in modern European history that began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. -
Period: to
1800-1876
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Thomas Jefferson is Elected President
Thomas Jefferson was the author of the declaration of independence and the third U.S. president. Jefferson ran against John Adams in 1796 and came in second place, making him vice president by law. Then he ran again in 1800, with the election ending in a tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The vote then went to the House of Representatives where Jefferson was then declared the victor and, furthermore, the third president of the U.S. -
Congress Declares War on England
The beginning of the War of 1812 was caused due to the British Royal Navy restricting trade routes to the U.S., impressing U.S. sailors, and the U.S.'s desire to expand its borders. -
English Forces Burn the White House
British forces storm into the Chesapeake Bay and burn multiple government buildings including the Capitol building, the White House. The British forces pulled their forces only because they had achieved their war goals and were moving down to New Orleans to capture it as well. -
Florida is Purchased from Spain
Spanish minister Do Luis de Onis and U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams came together to sign the document that would transfer control of Florida to the U.S. The Florida Peace Treaty was created to hand over the last Spanish American colony to the U.S. because of numerous boundary disputes. The U.S. gave Spain $5 million to cede Florida into the newly formed nation. -
Monroe Doctorine
President James Monroe gave his annual presidential speech warning European powers not to interfere in the western hemisphere or else the U.S. would step in and stop them. This speech stood against what George Washington wanted for the country. He wanted the country to stay out of foreign affairs and keep to themselves, however, the Monroe doctrine declared the U.S. as the policing force of the western hemisphere. -
U.S.-Mexican War
The U.S.-Mexican War lasted from 1846-1848 and was the first U.S. conflict fought on foreign soil. It was a war that was disputing the independence of Texas and the border of the Rio Grande. At the end of the war, Mexico lost about a third of its territory to the expansion-minded U.S., who claimed nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. -
Abraham Lincoln is Elected President
Abraham Lincoln is elected as the 16th president of the U.S. When entering office Abraham Lincoln was tasked with dealing with an incredibly divided nation dealing with the issue of states' rights about slavery. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote, however, he still handily defeated the three other candidates. Lincoln was formally a Whig representative to Congress and gained his popularity after his series of public speeches that address many political issues of the time. -
Civil War Begins
The tension between the Northern and Southern states over states' rights and slavery finally got to the point where war broke out. The election of Abraham Lincoln caused 7 southern states to leave the Union and create the Confederate States of America. 4 more states soon joined these rebel states. -
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's Speech at Gettysburg was done in order to address the war that was occurring. He wanted to dedicate the field to the fallen soldiers on both sides, and he wanted the soldiers to know what they were fighting for. He claimed that they were fighting to see if the new nation, and nations that had declared their freedoms from the European countries, could in fact survive without the aid of their previous owners. -
First Transcontinental Railroad is Completed
On the day of completion, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah. The last spike of the railroad was ceremoniously placed to connect the two railroad lines together. This railroad made it possible to travel from the eastern side of the continent to the western side by utilizing nearly 2000 miles of railroad track. The work began in 1866 after many plans had been made and the Pacific Railroad Act(1862) was passed.