Events of the 13 Colonies |
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| Click a link to learn much more about each event or topic. | ||
Depiction of the "Croatoan" clue at Roanoke Island |
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| 1587 - The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island - The site of the birth of Virginia Dare - the first English child born in the New World | ||
| 1607 - The Popham Colony - A failed English colony in present-day Maine. | ||
| 1607 - Jamestown - The first permanent English colony in the New World | ||
| 1609-1610 The Starving Time - The brutal winter of 1609-1610 nearly wiped out the Jamestown Colony. | ||
| 1613 - The Kidnapping of Pocahontas = Pocahontas is kidnapped by Jamestown settlers for over year. She'd soon be baptized and married to John Rolfe. | ||
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| 1614 - The Headright System - This system allowed people to acquire land by paying for people to come to Jamestown to work. | ||
| 1614 - Tobacco in America - Tobacco became the cash crop of Jamestown and powered the economies of virginia and north Carolina. | ||
| 1619 - The Birth of Slavery in America - the first enslaved people arrived in Jamestown from Africa in 1619. | ||
| 1619 - Indentured vs Enslaved- This article describes the difference between indentured servants and enslaved people. | ||
| 1619 - The Establishment of the House of Burgesses - This Virginia body is thought of as the first representative government in the New World. | ||
| 1620 - The Voyage of the Mayflower - This ship brought the Pilgrims to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. | ||
| 1620 - The Founding of Plymouth - The Pilgrims landed here in 1620. | ||
| 1620 - The Mayflower Compact - The Mayflower Compact was what many consider the first example of self-rule in Colonial America. | ||
| 1620 - The First Thanksgiving - Myth or Reality? - Thanksgiving is an important holiday in America today, but in 1620, did it even come close to resembling the feasts and celebrations we have today? | ||
Plymouth Colony |
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| 1629 - The Puritans - the Puritans were religious reformers who dominated NEw England in the 1600s and 1700s. | ||
| 1629 - The Pilgrims vs the Puritans What was the difference between Pilgrims and the Puritans, who soon absrobed them? | ||
| 1630 - The Triangular Trade - This trade system, which included enslaved people, molasses, and alcohol, largely powered the economy of New England. | ||
| 1634 - Maryland is founded - Maryland would become the first Catholic refuge in the New world. | ||
| 1636 - Roger Williams and Providence - Roger Williams held surprisingly progressive beliefs for a Puritan minister including religious tolerance and the separation of church and state. | ||
| 1636 - Connecticut is founded - The Connecticut Colony is founded in 1636. War would soon follow. | ||
| 1637 - The Pequot War - The war between the Pequots and the Connecticut settlers resulted in the Massacre at Mystic and the virtual elimination of the Pequots. | ||
| 1639 - The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut - This document was one oft he first examples of a constitution in the New World. | ||
| 1649 - The Maryland Toleration Act - This act gave religious freedom to all sects of Christianity in Maryland (for the time being). | ||
| 1663 - The Lords Proprietors are issued the Carolina Charter - These were eight nobleman rewarded with the Province of Carolina by Charles II. | ||
| 1664 - New Amsterdam becomes New York - In 1664, the English took over New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renamed it New York. | ||
| 1675 - King Phillips's War - Metacom, the son of Massasoit, launch a failed assault against the Puritans in hopes of regaining their way of life. | ||
| 1676 - Bacon's Rebellion - Nathaniel Bacon and his followers burned Jamestown to the ground because they felt the colonial government did little to protect them from Native American attacks. | ||
| 1681 - Founding of Pennsylvania - William Penn establishes the colony of Pennsylvania as a Qauker refuge and opens it to immigrants of all religions. | ||
| 1681 - The Quakers - The Quakers were a branch of Christianity heavily persecuted in England. Among other things, they believed in religious tolerance and eschewed war. | ||
| 1692 - The Salem Witch Trials - In one of the most infamous events in American history, 26 "witches" were executed in Salem Massachusetts. | ||
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| The Examination of a "Witch" | ||
| 1699 - From Jamestown to Williamsburg - The Virginia capital is moved to Williamsburg for a variety of reasons. | ||
| 1720 - Highlights of a Colonial Town: Williamsburg - Learn all about the landmarks of the former Virginia capital. | ||
| 1732 - The Founding of Georgia - James Oglethorpe founded the colony a refuge for English debtors. | ||
| 1750 - Cotton in America - Cotton was a cash crop in Georgia and South Carolina. When the cotton gin was invented, the cotton industry exploded. | ||
| 1754 - The Albany Congress - The Albany Congress lobbied for unified support from the colonies in the French and Indian War. | ||
| 1754 - 1763 The French and Indian War - The British victory meant the end of the French empire in the New World. this event is also called the Seven Years War. | ||
| 1763 - The Creation of the Mason-Dixon Line - This boundary dispute between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland led to the creation of the border between what was considered the North and the South. | ||
| 1763 - The Royal Proclamation of 1763 - This law prohibited settlement west of the Applachian Mountains. | ||
| 1764 - The Sugar Act - This tax was enacted to help pay for the French and Indian War. | ||
| 1766 - Pontiac's Rebellion - This was an uprising againt British rule in the Great Lakes region. |
