Colonial America Timeline
1492 - Christopher Columbus makes his first voyage and discovers America.
1585 - The Roanoke Colony is founded. It will disappear and become known as the "Lost Colony."
1607 - The Jamestown Settlement is established.
1609 - Only 60 out of 500 settlers in Jamestown survive the winter of 1609-1610. It is called the "Starving Time."
1609 - Henry Hudson explores the northeast coast and the Hudson River.
1614 - Jamestown settler John Rolfe marries Pocahontas, the daughter of the Powhatan Indian chief. 1614 - The Dutch colony of New Netherland is established.
1619 - The first African slaves arrive in Jamestown. The first representative government, the Virginia House of Burgesses, meets at Jamestown.
1620 - Plymouth Colony is founded by the Pilgrims.
1626 - The Dutch purchase Manhattan Island from the local Native Americans.
1629 - A royal charter is issued for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1630 - Puritans found the city of Boston.
1632 - Lord Calvert, the first Baron of Baltimore, is granted a charter for the Colony of Maryland.
1636 - Roger Williams begins the colony of Providence Plantation after being expelled from Massachusetts.
1636 - Thomas Hooker moves to Connecticut and establishes what will become the Connecticut Colony.
1637 - The Pequot War occurs in Massachusetts. The Pequot peoples are nearly wiped out.
1638 - New Sweden is founded along the Delaware River.
1639 - The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut describe the government of Connecticut. It is considered the first written Constitution of the Americas.
1640 - The first book to be printed in North America (the Bay Psalm Book) is published.
1642 - Ville-Marie (later Montreal) is founded as a permanent settlement.
1646 - Massachusetts Bay Colony enacts the death penalty for denying Biblical inspiration.
1652 - Rhode Island passes the first law in America which prohibits enslavement, but is never enforced.
1655 - The Dutch take control of New Sweden.
1656 - The Quakers arrive in New England.
1658 - Quaker Mary Dyer (1611–1660) is arrested in New Haven and convicted for preaching Quakerism and is among those banished to Rhode Island.
1659 - Two Quakers are punished by hanging when they return to the Massachusetts Bay Colony after being banished.
1663 - The Province of Carolina is created.
1663 - Rhode Island is given a royal charter by Charles II.
1664 - England captures the New Netherlands and names it the Province of New York. The city of New Amsterdam is renamed New York.
1665 - The territory of Carolina is extended to include Florida.
1666 - Maryland prohibits the growing of tobacco for a year due to a glut of tobacco on the market.
1668 - Massachusetts annexes Maine.
1670 - The city of Charlestown, South Carolina is founded.
1675 - King Philip's War begins between the colonists in New England and a group of Native American tribes including the Wampanoag people.
1676 - Bacon's Rebellion occurs. Settlers led by Nathanial Bacon rebel against Virginia Governor William Berkeley.
1681 - William Penn is granted the charter for the Province of Pennsylvania.
1682 - The city of Philadelphia is founded.
1690 - Spain begins to colonize the land of Texas.
1692 - The Salem witch trials begin in Massachusetts. Twenty people are executed for witchcraft.
1699 - The capital of Virginia moves from Jamestown to Williamsburg.
1701 - Delaware separates from Pennsylvania becoming a new colony.
1702 - The Colony of New Jersey is formed by the merging of East and West Jersey.
1702 - Queen Anne's War begins.
1712 - The Province of Carolina separates into North Carolina and South Carolina.
1718 - The city of New Orleans is founded by the French.
1732 - The Province of Georgia is formed by James Oglethorpe.
1733 - The first settlers arrive in Georgia.
1746 - The College of New Jersey is founded. It will later become Princeton University.
1752 - The Liberty Bell is cracked when it is first rung in testing. It was fixed by 1753.
1754 - The French and Indian War begins between the British colonists and the French. Both sides ally with various Indian tribes.
1763 - The British win the French and Indian War and gain a significant amount of territory in North America including Florida.
1765 - The British government passes the Stamp Act taxing the colonies. The Quartering Act is also passed allowing British troops to be housed in private homes.
1770 - The Boston Massacre occurs.
1773 - Bostonian colonists protest the Tea Act with the Boston Tea Party.
1774 - The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1775 - The Revolutionary War begins.
Websites for online timelines:
World Digital Library
www.wdl.org/en/sets/us-history/timeline/#4
Ducksters
www.ducksters.com/geography/country/united_states_history_timeline.php
Social Studies for Kids
socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/colonialtimes.htm
World Digital Library
www.wdl.org/en/sets/us-history/timeline/#4
Ducksters
www.ducksters.com/geography/country/united_states_history_timeline.php
Social Studies for Kids
socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/colonialtimes.htm
American Revolution
www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/spying-and-espionage/george-washington-spymaster/
George Washington - Spy Master!
George Washington - Spy Master!
The Culper Code Book was used by the Culper spy ring to send coded messages to George Washington's headquarters during the Revolutionary War.
www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/spying-and-espionage/the-culper-code-book
www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/spying-and-espionage/the-culper-code-book