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Oct 14, 1492
Christopher Columbus "Discovered" America
Columbus sailed the ocean blue in search of the Indies, but instead of finding the Indies he led three ships to the New World, becoming one of the first (after Leif Ericson) to find America. His arrival was much more signifcant, as his finding of the New World started the following series of events! -
Roanoke Founded
In 1584 Queen Elizabeth I granted a patent to Raleigh to colonize in America. In late 1585, the first attempt at a permanent settlement was established; Roanoke. It was discovered to be abandoned shortly after, creating one of America's biggest mystery. To this date nobody knows where the colonists went. -
Settlers Arrived in Jamestown, Virgnia
Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery Arrived anchored at James River and began work on what was soon to be the first permanent settlement in the New World. -
Mayflower Arrives at Plymouth
The pilgrims arrived in the New World after a long voyage at sea, seeking religious freedom from England. -
Indian Massacre of 1622
(technically it took place on 1621, but there's a calender mixup where the massacre was said to be in 1622). After being provoked by the seizing of land and food, the Powhatan Confederacy attacked Jamestown, killing 347 settlers that day. -
Settlers First Thanksgiving
The settlers first thanksgiving with the Native Americans took place on November 25th 1621. Today many of us look back on this event as the beginning of a relationship between the colonists and the natives, however they did not get along very well in later years. -
Salem Witch Trials Begin
In the 16th and 18th century, superstitions about the devil were very common. Men who did not believe in apparitions or witches were dubbed as heretics, for if they denied the existence of apparitions they, by default, denied the existence of the almighty God. The Salem Witch Trials were a large series of accusations that led to the hanging of many who were claimed to be possessed and/or witches. While events like this happened in other places, in Salem there was a much larger amount. -
The Great Awakening Begins
The Great Awakening revolutionized Christianity during the 1730s and 1740s. It was led by preachers who wanted to emphasize a more personal relationship with God by abolishing some of the old rituals that Christians followed at the time. -
French and Indian War (Seven Year War)
1756-1763. Against British and American. About 1.6 million people died during the war. -
Signing of the Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Year War. The French lost Canada and gave Louisiana to Spain. Great Britian claimed Upper Canada and Spanish Florida. This treaty tigthened the grip that Great Britian had over the thirteen colonies, ensuring their supremacy. -
Boston Massacre
After a small crowd gathered around British soldiers and began booing and throwing things at them, the soldiers fired without orders, killing five and injuring six. This was a very signigifcant event to the start of the revolutionary war that began five years later. -
The Boston Tea Party
The destruction of tea in the Boston Harbor was an act of defiance against the British govenment for putting high taxes on their tea. This relates back to "no taxation without representation", because the colonists didn't believe they should be taxed by someone other than elected official. The colonists revolted because they were being treated poorly by the British. This act of defiance was caused because of how they were treated. -
Start of the Revolutionary War
The war lasted eight years and gave the colonies their freedom from Great Britain. -
Declaration of Independence
This was the settlers way of declaring their freedom from Great Britain. It announced that the thirteen colonies regarded themselves as independent from Great Britain, who they were at war with at the time. One of the most famous sentences from the declaration is: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
