Colonial America

Colonial America Timeline (1492-1763)

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1000 Leif-EricsonLeif Ericson explores the North American East Coast.
1492 Aug 3. Christopher Columbus sails on First Voyage.
1497 John-CabotJuly. John Cabot on his first voyage searching for the Northwest Passage.
1499 Amerigo Vespucci finds the South American Coast.
1507 “America” is first used in a book, referring to the New World. Amerigo Vespucci receives credit for the discovery of the continent.
1513 Spaniard Ponce de Leon makes landfall in Florida.Juan Ponce de Leon
1517 Oct 31. Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther is launched in Europe.
1524 Giovanni_VerrazanoFrench sponsored navigator Giovanni da Verrazano discovers the Hudson River.
1534 Sep. Jacques Cartier sails from France to explore the New World.
1541 Hernando_De_Soto_by_Telfer__SartainSpanish conquistador Hernando de Soto explores the Mississippi River.
1565 Spain establishes the first European Colony in North America, St. Augustine, Florida.
1577 Francis-Drake Sir Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth to return to England.
1584 July 4. First Expedition, led by Sir Walter Raleigh, arrives at Roanoke Island.
1585 Roanoke_map_1584The first English settlement, the Roanoke Colony, is established.
1587 Aug 18. Virginia Dare is the first English child born in the Roanoke Colony.
1607 Jamestown_Virginia_ruin May 14. Jamestown, Virginia is the first established colony of the 13 Colonies.
1607 Dec. Captain John Smith is captured by the Powhatans at Werowocomoco.
1609 Colonists’ plant and harvest native tobacco in Virginia.
1609 Last_Voyage_Of_Henry_Hudson Aug. 4. Henry Hudson sailed into Cape Cod.
1610 During that winter of 1609-1610, nearly 440 settlers of Jamestown die because of what is known as Starving Time.
1614 Pocahontas_Rolfe_cropTobacco farmer John Rolfe marries Pocahontas, daughter of Cheif Powhatan.
1620 Nov. 11. Earliest Plymouth Colony document is known as the Mayflower Compact
1620 Dec. 21 Landing party arrives what is to become the Plymouth Colony.
1621 Thanksgiving Nov. The Pilgrims celebrate the First Thanksgiving at Plymouth.
1626 Manhattan Island was bought by Peter Minuit from Native Americans.
1629 King_Charles_I_by_Antoon_van_DyckKing Charles I try to rule as absolute Monarch, leading people to leave for the American Colonies.
1629 Massachusetts Bay Colony Royal charter was issued by Parliament.
1635 The first public school in America is established, Boston Latin School.
1636 Harvard College in Massachusetts is founded.
1638 Cambridge, Massachusetts is where the first Colonial printing press is located.
1641 New England makes Slavery legal.
1652 Rhode Island passes the first law within the colonies making slavery illegal.
1663 Cotton_Mather Feb. 12. Cotton Mather was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1673 May. Marquette and Joliet cross Lake Michigan into Wisconsin
1675 Capture-Of-King-Phillips-FortJuly 8. Earliest attacks against Colonists begins King Philip’s War.
1676 July 30. Declaration of the People of Virginia leads to Bacon’s Rebellion.
1677 Colonists in North Carolina rebel against taxation by the English.
1681 William_PennPennsylvania is established by William Penn.
1690 King William’s War starts to spread to the colonies.
1692 Witchcraft_at_Salem_VillageFeb. Salem Witch trials take place in a village in Massachusetts.
1699 The parliament in England passes the Wool Act.
1705 The Virginia Black Code is passed in Virginia.
1706 Benjamin-FranklinJan. 17. Benjamin Franklin is born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1707 Act of the Union combines England, Scotland, and Wales as part of the United Kingdom.
1710 Post Office Act passes in the English parliament. Begins a postal system in the colonies.
1718 May 7. The French establishes New Orleans.
1720 Population of the American colonists number 475,000.
1732 george-washingtonFeb. 22. George Washington of Virginia is born.
1737 First copper Coins of the Colony are minted in Connecticut.
1754 Albany_CongressJune 19. Delegates from seven colonies met at the Albany Congress.
1763 Feb. 10. French and Indian War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.


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