Colonial America Time Period - History Timeline 1607-1650
1606: April 10, 1606 King James I of England issued the 1606 First Virginia Charter which created the Virginia Company authorizing eight Englishmen to colonize "that part of America commonly called Virginia". This starts the Colonial America Time Period
1607: The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia
1609/10: Period in Jamestown Colony history referred to as the Starving Time
1611: The rule of Sir Thomas Dale and Good Order in Virginia
1612: John Rolfe establishes a tobacco plantation on the James River about 30 miles (48 km) from the Jamestown Settlement
1614: Violent confrontation between hundreds of English and Powhatan men on the Pamunkey River, Virginia
1618: The Virginia Company of London ended monopoly on land ownership in America. The Headright System was set up by the London company in 1618 that gave 50 acres of land to colonists who paid their own way to Virginia, or paid the way for someone else
1619: The first meeting of the House of Burgesses was held in Jamestown, Virginia, on July 30, 1619
1620: The Mayflower ship transported 102 English Puritans and Separatists, the Pilgrim Fathers, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, a long journey of 66 days
1620: 1620 - The Pilgrims establish their own government, the basis of which was the Mayflower Compact, which they drafted on their journey to the New World on the Mayflower. The Plymouth Colony is established.
1620: Massachusetts Bay Colony. John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the "Father of English Colonization in North America" received land in northern New England which became the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Colonial America Time Period.
1622: 1622-1624 The Powhatan Wars, battles and conflicts in Virginia between colonists and American Native Indians
1623: New Netherlands, which became New York, was settled by the Dutch refer to Peter Stuyvesant and Peter Minuit
1624: 1624 Virginia was made a royal colony
1628: Puritans formed the Massachusetts Bay Company and many Puritans continued to settle in the region
1630: In the spring of 1630, John Winthrop led a fleet of 11 vessels and 700 passengers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Great Migration of thousands of English people to the Americas that took place between 1620 and 1640. Many came as Indentured Servants
1634: Maryland was settled - refer to Southern Colonies and George Calvert, Lord Baltimore
1636: Connecticut was initially settled colonists, led by Thomas Hooker
1636: Rhode Island was settled by Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson
1637: The Pequot War - Native Indians of Connecticut and Rhode Island were defeated by the colonists
1638: Delaware was settled initially by Peter Minuit.
1640: The Quakers, or Society of Friends, was a Protestant sect founded in England whose members believed that salvation was available to all people
1640 : 1640 - 1701 The Beaver Wars, also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars - see Iroquois Confederacy
1649:
The Toleration Act was passed in England allowing all Christians religious freedom.
Colonial America Time Period - History Timeline 1650-1699
1651: 1651 1660 1663 The Navigation Acts. The colonies represent a lucrative source of wealth and trade - see Mercantilism and Triangular Trade. Navigation Acts regulate colonial trade and enable England to collect duties (taxes) during the Colonial America Time Period. During this period Cash Crop Plantations and the Slave Plantations were established
1655: The Peach Tree War was a large scale attack by the Susquehannock Nation and allied Native Americans on New Netherlands settlements in New Amsterdam
1662: King Charles II officially united Connecticut as a single colony
1663: Carolina was settled. See the Lords Proprietors and the Charter of Carolina
1664: New Jersey was settled
1673: The Plantation Duty Act
1675: The Lords of Trade are appointed in England to enforce the new mercantile system and maximize potential profits for England
1675: 1675-l676 Bacon's Rebellion, War with Susquehannocks in Maryland and the Declaration of the People
1675: 1675 - 1677 King Philip's War.
1679: New Hampshire was settled
1677: Culpeper’s Rebellion: Rebellion against the colonial government in Carolina in 1677 and the Navigation Acts led by John Culpeper. The rebellion succeeded in disposing the governor and placing Culpeper in his position, but he was removed in 1679
1680: 1680-1692: The Pueblo Revolt was located in New Mexico and Arizona between the Pueblo Native Americans and the Spanish.
1682: Quakers Settle in Pennsylvania founded by William Penn
1686: Formation of New England - King James II combines the colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth, Rhode Island, New York, New Hampshire, East Jersey and West Jersey into a single colony: The Dominion of New England.
1688: King James II appoints Sir Edmund Andros to serve as Captain General and Governor in Chief of New England. Sir Edmund Andros causes dissension with the colonists as he does not have to answer to any elected assembly
1688: 1688 - 1763 The French and Indian Wars between France and Great Britain for lands in North America
1688: (1688-1699) King William's War (part of the French and Indian Wars) between France and the Wabanaki Confederacy and England and the Iroquois Confederacy.
1689: Feb 13, 1689 The Glorious Revolution. The Protestant William III and Mary II officially replace the Catholic James II as monarchs of England. The English Bill of Rights enables Parliament to control laws and taxes during the Colonial America Time Period
1689: Mar 1689 Glorious Revolution Sparks Revolt in the colonies. Boston militiamen seize Governor-in-Chief Andros and put him in jail. The New England colonies begin to re-establish governments. Jacob Leisler (1640-1691) was a German immigrant who led the insurrection against local colonial officials from 1689 to 1691 in colonial New York
1691: Plymouth joined with the Massachusetts Bay Colony
1691: Salem Witch Trials - Hysteria over witchcraft accusations consumes Salem Village, Massachusetts
1696: 1696 Salutary Neglect. The British government establishes the Board of Trade to oversee colonial policies practicing a policy of "Salutary Neglect," in which it gives the colonies considerable freedom in economic matters.
Colonial America Time Period - History Timeline 1700 - 1763
1700: Queen Anne ascends to the English throne
1702: (1702-1713) Queen Anne's War (part of the French and Indian Wars)
1702: New Jersey. The two parts of the colony of New Jersey were united into a royal colony until 1702.
1703: Delaware. The Duke of York gained New Netherland and New Sweden which had been founded by Peter Minuit. He renamed the whole region as Delaware. This area became part of Pennsylvania until 1703 when Delaware created its own legislature
1704: The Apalachee Massacre occurs in western Florida
1707: 1707 The Union between England and Scotland created the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain' and the term British, as opposed to English, is then used in reference to the colonists in North America.
1711: 1711-1713: The Tuscarora War in Northern Carolina. The Tuscarora tribe was defeated by James Moore and Yamasee warriors
1712: The First French Fox War (1712–1716)
1713: The Treaty of Utrecht ends Queen Anne's War.
1714: George I ascends to the British throne
1715: The Yamasee War - An Indian confederation came close to wiping out the white settlements in Southern Carolina
1719: The Maryland Legislature passed an “Act for the Encouragement of an Iron Manufacture within this Province”
1722: Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725 aka Father Rale's War or Lovewell's War in Maine
1727: George II ascends to the British throne
1728: The Second Fox War (1728–1733), the Fox were reduced to 500 by French troops and Indian allies. The Fox tribe join the Sauk Tribe after defeat
1729: 1729 Following the Natchez Wars of 1716, 1722 and 1723 the Natchez Rebellion (1729–1731) when Natchez Indians massacre 250 people at Fort Rosalie.
1729: North Carolina and South Carolina became separate Royal Colonies.
17301730 The Great Awakening. The Great Awakening was an unorganized but widespread movement of evangelical Christian sermons and church meetings in the 1730s and 1740s
1732The Hat Act designed to control hat production by the American colonists in the 13 Colonies.
1732: 1732 Debt Recovery Act - Declaring land and slaves to be the equivalent of property for the purpose of satisfying debts owed by colonists.
1733: Navigation Act of 1733 - the Molasses Act - levied heavy taxes on sugar
1733: 1733 - Georgia is settled. James Oglethorpe receives a charter to create a colony between South Carolina and Florida. Georgia became a royal colony in 1752.
1736: The Chickasaw Wars (1736, 1739 and 1752) were fought between the Chickasaw allied with the British against the French and their allies the Choctaws and Illini.
1744: (1744–1748) King George's War (part of the French and Indian Wars) between the French colonies allied with the Wabanaki Confederacy and the British colonies allied with Iroquois Confederacy
1749: Father Le Loutre’s War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Míkmaq War and the Anglo-Míkmaq War
1750: 1750 Iron Act - Restricts the manufacturing activities in the colonies
1754: (1754-1763) French Indian War also known as the Seven Years War, (part of the French and Indian Wars)
1758: The Anglo-Cherokee War (1758–1761) - The Cherokee uprising in present-day Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas.
1758: King George III ascends to the throne
1763: The Peace Treaty of Paris 1763 ends the French and Indian Wars. Canada, east of the Mississippi River, was added to the British empire.
Colonial America Time Period - History Timeline 1763 - 1775
1763: The Peace Treaty of Paris 1763 ends the French and Indian Wars. Canada, east of the Mississippi River, was added to the British empire. Great Britain attempts to Reverse the Policy of Salutary Neglect
1763: Pontiac's Rebellion, aka the Pontiac War (1763–66), broke out in the Ohio River Valley. The Ottawa Chief Pontiac (1720-1769) to lead a rebellion of a number of tribes against the British
1763: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763 bringing the introduction of the massive boundary, which was the Proclamation Line between the colonies and Indian Territories - refer to British Colonies in 1763
1764: Sugar Act - Law passed by the British Parliament setting a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies.
1765: 1765 The Stamp Act of 1765 placed a stamp duty (tax) on legal papers, newspapers and pamphlets. Vehement opposition by the Colonies resulted in the repeal of the act in
1765: Quartering Act of 1765
1765: The Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty was an an organization (a secret society) formed by American Patriots who opposed British measures against the colonists, and agitated for resistance
1767: 1767 Townshend Acts - Series of Laws passed by the British Parliament placing duties on items imported by the colonists including glass, lead, paints, paper and tea. The reaction from the colonists was so intense that Great Britain eventually repealed all the taxes except the one on tea.
1768: August 1, 1768: Boston Nonimportation Agreement Merchants in Boston and New York boycott British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed
1770: March 5, 1770 The Boston Massacre: British soldiers, who were quartered in the city, fired into a rioting mob killing five American civilians in the Boston Massacre
1772: June 9, 1772: The HMS Gaspee runs aground and is looted by colonists
1772: November 1772: Samuel Adams organized the first Committee of Correspondence at Boston, Massachusetts
1773: May 10, 1773: Tea Act - Allowing the British East India Company to sell its low-cost tea directly to the colonies, undermining colonial tea merchants
1774: December 16, 1774: The Boston Tea Party - Massachusetts patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians protested against the British Tea Act
1774: Intolerable (Coercive) Acts: The Intolerable Acts also known as Coercive Acts were a were a reprisal to the Boston Tea Party rebellion. A package of five laws aimed at restoring authority in its colonies:
March 31, 1774: Boston Port Act
May 20, 1774: Massachusetts Government Act
May 20, 1774: Administration Justice Act
June 2, 1774: Quartering Act of 1774
June 22, 1774: Quebec Act 1774
1774: September 5, 1774: The Continental Congress. Virginians Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and Peyton Randolph invited delegations from all of the other colonies to meet in Philadelphia to debate the course of action in response to grievances of colonies against Great Britain.
1774: The Continental Association was created by the Continental Congress in 1774 in response to the Coercive Acts, or 'Intolerable Acts'. The Articles of Association were were adopted on October 20, 1774.
1774: The Continental Presidents - elected representatives of colonists assembled in revolt against British rule.
1775: March 23, 1775 - Patrick Henry delivered his passionate and fiery speech "Give me liberty or give me death!"
1775: The American Revolution (1775 - 1783) the Colonial America Time Period moves on to the War for Independence - Revolutionary War Timeline, Revolutionary Battles Facts about the Revolutionary War and the Causes of the American Revolutionary War
