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Jamestown Established
An English established colony that was settled in present-day Virginia. It was located on a peninsula to gain defense against the Spanish and near Indian settlements for trade. It's residents were mainly men seeking quick profits in the New World. -
Henry Hudson's Expedition
Commissioned by the Dutch. He failed to find the fabled Northwest Passage as all others did before him. He did, however, find the Hudson River and claimed modern day New York for the Dutch. -
Santa Fe Established
Santa Fe was the first permanent European settlement in the Southwest. Established by Spain. -
The First Tobacco Crop
Created by John Rolfe when he crossed strains of tobacco from Trinidad and Guiana and developed a strain that would grow in the New World. -
Establishment of the House of Burgesses
A limited representative body with elected members. It first met in a church in Jamestown, Virginia. Their first act was to set tobacco prices. -
Birth of Slavery in America
Dutch slave ship sold twenty African Americans to the colonists in Jamestown. -
Founding of Plymouth Colony & signing of the Mayflower Compact
Founded by a group of separatists who arrived on the Mayflower. The Mayflower Compact was a set of rules that established self-governance among the colonist. -
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Salem Witch Trials
A string of accusations in Massachusetts that resulted in 20 deaths. These trials demonstrate the suspicion and superstition of early Americans.
