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Jamestown Established
The Virginia company sent 3 ships carrying 104 men to North America. It was the first permanent English settlement. They faced struggle due to them being unfamiliar with the terrain and farming. Jamestown succeeded due to help from neighboring Indian tribes. -
Jamestown's Comeback
After Sir Thomas Gates arrived at Jamestown, he found it in disarray. The settlers had suffered a horrible winter, they lacked supplies and many were dying of starvation. To fix the settlement he implemented laws. The discovery of tobacco as a cash crop allowed Jamestown to grow economically. It was popular in England, so selling it became very beneficial to the economy. These factors allowed Jamestown to succeed in the end, without Gates' arrival Jamestown would have failed. -
Plymouth Colony Founded
To escape religious persecution, Puritans traveled to North America on the Mayflower. They used the Mayflower compact as a foundation for the way Plymouth was governed. Similar to Jamestown, Plymouth survived due to help from Native Americans. The local Indian chief, Squanto, he taught them how to grow crops and trade. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony Founded
A royal charter was given to the Massachusetts Bay Company, by King Charles the first. They were a group of Calvinist Puritans, led by John Winthrop. They left England to obtain religious freedom. The colony began to flourish after a wave of colonists arrived with materials necessary for success in the colonies. The government based their ruling off of religion, and consisted of The General Court. -
Maryland Formed
King Charles' wife gave 12 million acres to Sir George Calvert. He died and the land was given to the second Lord Baltimore, and he founded it. Made as a refuge for English Catholics. To prevent issues families immigrated to Maryland, and land was bought from Indians instead of stolen. The colony gained success from selling tobacco. -
Trial of Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson hosted meetings in her home in Boston. The gatherings grew larger, due to her vast biblical knowledge. She had to appear before the general court. She was found as unfit for society since she was behaving like a "leper", and banished from the church. This was mainly due to her gender, since women had few rights at this time. -
Glorious Revolution
After King James II welcomed the birth of a son, who would be Catholic, Protestants started a revolt in England. The king's daughter, Mary, married William III of Orange and they stole the English throne. This led to Parliament regaining their right to counterbalance authority of monarchy, and the monarch's authority became limited. -
Charles Town is Founded
145 English settlers and 3 enslaved Africans arrived in Charles Town. Since the ground was level, it was mainly used for farming. This caused many enslaved Africans to be transported to Carolina. The economy of Charles Town was dominated by agriculture. -
King Philip's War Begins
After a Christian Indian, John Sassamon, warned colonists about an Indian uprising, he was found dead. The colonist authorities accused three Wampanoag Indians of the murder, and they were hanged. Indians started to retaliate. Both sides started to fight one another, this was the start of King Philip's War. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion against the Indians, after one murdered his farm manager. Since Governor William Berkeley and the elite didn't want to fight the Indians, it became a battle against them as well. Falling tobacco prices, rising taxes, and newly freed servants being landless added to the tensions on this rebellion. When Bacon died of dysentery, the rebellion ended. -
King Philip's War Ends
After both sides killed a large number of the other sides' population. Homes, land, and cities were destroyed. For example the Narragansett Tribe destroyed Providence, Rhode Island. In the end the English forced many of the Wampanoags and their allies to surrender, flee, or die. The ones who remained had to be supervised by English officials, and Metacomet was found and killed. -
Salem Witch Trials
In Salem, Massachusetts women started to get accused of engaging in witchcraft. If the women were found guilty they would be executed or jailed. Many of these women were not truly witches. Many were falsely accused. It is believed that these trials were caused by tensions of over-taxing in the village next to Salem.