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Virginia Company of London
A joint stock company which was charted by King James I to establish a colony in North America. Captain John Smith also joined the endeavor to find gold and riches in the New World. -
Jamestown Founded
On this day 104 Englishmen chose Virginia as the first permanent English settlement in the new world. It is named after the English King, James the first. The sight was chosen based on three requirements given by the Virginia Company. It was surrounded by water on three sides and was far inland making it easily defensible from the Spanish. The water around it was deep enough to park ships and it was not inhabited by the native population. -
Santa Fe
First permanent European settlement in the southwest. -
Tobacco Brought to Virginia
John Rolfe combined strains of tobacco from Trinidad and Guiana and they were brought to Virginia where they were planted. Tobacco was sold for a high price in Europe and after fifteen year American colonists were exporting over 500,000 pounds every year. It was through this source of income that the American colonies could grow. -
John Winthrop, City on a Hill
New England was driven by a puritan colony in Massachusetts. John Winthrops sermon about a city on a hill nails this point home, he hops that the colony will be a shining example to the world. -
Act of Religious Toleration
Maryland colonies made a law mandating the toleration of Trinitarian Christians -
New Amsterdam becomes New York
English took over Dutch settlement New Amsterdam and it is renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York who organized the attack. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon lead an angry group of colonists to attack the Native American's after being fed up with Governor Berkeley's refusal to move westward. The date given is when Bacon wrote his complaints against the governor.
