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38,000 BCE
North America: Migration
Migration is a movement of people or animals from one place to another. Scientists believe that the first people group arrived in North America during the last Ice Age. A land bridge between northeastern Asia and Alaska was exposed when sea levels dropped . -
8000 BCE
North America: Culture
Native American groups adjusted over time, and they eventually learned how to grow plants, breed animals, and farm. In their community maize or corn was one of the important crops, but later they learned how to grow beans and squash. With their steady supplies of food they were able to support larger populations. -
1650 BCE
Forced Labor: Encomienda System
The encomienda system was a system that gave settlers the right to tax local Native Americans or to make them work. In exchange these settlers were supposed to protect the Native American people and convert them to Christianity. Native Americans were treated with cruelty by the Spanish, and they were forced to work in terrible conditions. They faced brutality and desperate situations on a daily basis. -
1519 BCE
Spanish Conquistadors: Hernan Cortes
Hernan Cortes was a conquistador, and they are soldiers who led military expeditions in the Americas. In 1519, he left Cuba to sail to present-day Mexico but he had only 508 soldiers, 100 sailors, 16 horses, and some guns. He had hoped that his superior weaponry would bring him victory. One day an Indian woman named Malintzin helped Cortes win allies. Cortes was also the man who captured Moctezuma and killed him, leading the Aztec Empire to fall. -
Period: 1500 BCE to 1300 BCE
Early Socities: Anasazi
One of the early farm cultures in North America were the Anasazi. They lived in the Four Corners region where present-day Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. They wove vines, straws and yucca ( a type of plant ) to make containers and other items. Eventually they became skilled potters.The Anasazi built buildings that were on top of each other creating multi-storied complexes, and these buildings were called pueblos. They also made kivas which were ceremonial underground chambers. -
1400 BCE
Prince Henry the Navigator: Henry the Navigator
A man from Portugal named Prince Henry the Navigator was responsible for advances that would make exploration more successful. Although he had never been on a voyage himself, he greatly advanced Portugal's exploration efforts. He also built a observatory and founded a school of navigation to teach better methods of sailing. -
1099 BCE
Middle Ages Feudalism: Knights
Nobles needed people to protect their lands, so knights were there to help. Knights were warriors who fought on horseback in exchange for land as they give their military service back to the lords. Knights who promised to support the nobles in battle were called vassals, and this system of promises was called feudalism. -
200 BCE
Technological Advances: Astrolabe
New advancement in technology played a major role in world exploration, and one of the pieces of technology sailors used was the astrolabe. The astrolabe was a a device that enabled navigators to learn their ship's location by charting the position of the stars. Using this, people were able to travel to the open seas without any landmarks to guide them. -
1324
Kingdom of Mali: Haji
In 1324 Mansa Munsa left on a haji to Mecca. A haji is a pilgrimage, and this journey is a once in a life time trip that is a spiritual duty to every Muslim in the world. -
1443
Songhai Empire: Askia the Great
Askia the Great was one of the greatest leaders in the Songhai Empire, and his real name is Muhammad Ture. He was a devout muslim who supported education and learning, yet while he was ruling the cities of Gao and Timbuktu started developing. Within the cities held great mosques, universities, schools, and libraries. Askia also created a professional army to improve the government, and specialized departments to oversee various tasks. -
1452
Renaissance Search for Knowledge: Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest Renaissance artists, since his art reflected the basic Renaissance idea of human value. Da Vinci had many professions but he was most recognized for his painting, architecture, and sculptures. He created many of the world's most recognized inventions and paintings that influenced all to invent or create something of their own. -
1492
Colombus Sails across the Atlantic: Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was a sailor from Italy, and he was convinced that he could reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. -
1497
Search for a Northwest Passage: Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage was a water route through North America that would allow ships to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The English began sending explorers to find it yet the three men who joined the race to find it failed. John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, and Henry Hudson were all unsuccessful in finding the Northwest Passage in their journeys, however their explorations led to increased European interest in North America. -
1517
The Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest who publicly criticized the Roman Catholic Church in 1517. Luther proclaimed that the church was too wealthy and that it abused its power. Because of his 95 Theses that was nailed onto the front door of the church, criticisms of Luther's started the protestant reformation. -
1519
Other explorers Explore to the Americas: Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese navigator that set out on a Spanish Fleet to sail down the east coast of South America. As he was traveling he started having dangerously low amount of food and water supplies, and eventually Magellan got killed in the heat of battle in the Philippines. His crew did continue the journey for him, and they were the first sailors to circumnavigate the world although Magellan didn't make it with them for this successful achievement. -
Period: 1520 to
African Diaspora
About 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic as slaves, and 10 million of these captives managed to survive the voyage and reached the Americas. The slave trade led to the African Diaspora where enslaved Africans were sent all across the New World. 4 million were sent to Brazil, 2 million went to the colonies of New Spain, 3 million worked in French and British colonies, and more than 600,000 slaves went to Britain's North American colonies which later became the United States. -
1526
The Slave Trade: Middle Passage
The Middle passage was the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean that enslaved Africans were forced to endure. Enslavement was a horrible experience for the slaves, and they were shipped like cargo onto the lower deck of the ships, and they did not have a lot of space to fit in. All the slaves were chained around the neck while they were in the cargo space that was about the size of a coffin. -
1548
The Need for a New Labor Force: Immunity
European diseases had a devastating effect on the Native American population. Most adult Europeans were immune or had a natural resistance to most of the common diseases. Native Americans have never been exposed to these types of diseases so they didnt have an immunity to them. Eventually millions of them died because of sickness when Columbus reached the New World after a few years. Africans had an immunity to these diseases so Europe brought in slaves to work since it was the best solution. -
1570
Northeast and Southeast: Iroquois League
A political confederation or alliance, that was established by the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca. The league helped the Iroquois become one of the most powerful Native American peoples in North America. They also made decisions concerning war and peace, yet their goal was to strengthen the alliance against invasion. -
Pilgrims on the Move: Pilgrims
The Pilgrims were one Separatist group that left England in the early 1600s to escape persecution. The pilgrims then moved to the Netherlands and became immigrants, yet they were pleased to be able to practice their religion freely. They were not happy that their children had to learn the Dutch language and culture, and they feared that their children would forget the English traditions.So they all left Europe altogether and formed a joint-stock company to gain permission to settle in Virgina. -
English Trade Laws: Triangular Trade
Triangular trade was a system in which goods and slaves were traded among the Americas, Britain, and Africa. There were several routes of the triangular trade that different goods were transported on. These goods would be traded at ports for local goods, and colonial merchants would travel great distances to find the best markets. -
Founding a New Colony: Jamestown
Jamestown is the first permanent settlement in North America. In 1608, John Smith took over the colony and built a fort,yet a lack of preparation cost a lot of the colonists their lives. Most men who came into Jamestown had no farming or carpentry experience. Marshes full of disease carrying mosquitoes surrounded Jamestown, and soon two-thirds of the original colonists had died. -
Period: to
Other Southern Colonies: Maryland
In the 1620s George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore founded Maryland. In 1634 a group of 200 English Catholics came to Maryland, and in the group included wealthy landowners, servants, craftspeople, and farmers. The colony's owners or proprietors controlled the government, meaning the colony was a proprietary colony. The tensions of religious conflicts started happening here and the Toleration Act of 1649 was presented. -
The New England Colonies: Mayflower Compact
On September 16th,1620, a ship called the Mayflower left England with more than 100 men, women, and children aboard. After 2 months of rough ocean travel the Pilgrims sighted land north of Virginia. Soon later they decided to establish their own basic laws and social rules to govern the colony they would found. All 41 male passengers signed the Mayflower compact, a legal contract in which they agreed to have fair laws to protect the general good. -
New York and New Jersey: Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant was a director general that led the beginning of the New Amsterdam colony in 1647. In 1644, an English fleet captured the colony without firing a single shot, and so New Netherland was renamed New York and New Amsterdam became New York City. -
Other Southern Colonies: Toleration Act of 1649
Protestants started thriving in the 1640s, and soon religious conflicts started happening. To reduce tensions, Lord Baltimore presented a bill that became known as the Toleration Act of 1649. This bill made it a crime to restrict religious rights of Christians.It didn't stop all religious conflicts but it showed that their government wanted some religious freedom. -
Penn's Colony: Quakers
Quakers or the Society of Friends, made up one of the largest religious groups in New Jersey. Quakers didn't follow formal religious practices and dressed plainly, because they believed the equality of woman and men before God. Many Quaker beliefs and practices shocked most Christians, and as a result they were persecuted in England and America. William Penn wished for a larger colony under his control that would provide a safe home for Quakers. It was known as Pennsylvania and it grew rapidly. -
Colonial Governments: English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights was an act to reduce the powers of the English monarch. The Parliament gained power, and as time went on colonists valued their own right to elect representatives to decide local issues. Following the changes, new assemblies and charters were formed by the colonies in the Dominion. -
Great Plains: Totems
Totems are carved images of ancestors or animals on tall wooden poles, and they held religious and historical significance. Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest would always have a totem pole since it held an important meaning. -
Stamp Act: The Stamp Act of 1765
The Stamp Act of 1765 was this act that required colonists to pay for an official stamp, or seal, when they bought paper items. Colonists who refused to buy stamps would be fined or sent to jail. The Stamp Act was the Parliament's first attempt to raise money. The act was soon repealed in 1766 since Boston issued a declaration that the Stamp Act was a violation of their rights and liberties. -
The Boston Tea Party: Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was on the night of December 16, 1773, where colonists disguised as Indians to sneak onto three tea-filled ships and dumped over 340 tea chests into Boston Harbor. Soon the streets were echoed with shouts of "Boston Harbor is a teapot tonight!" -
Modern day Connection: Printing Press
A german man named Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid-1400s. Because of his invention we were able to evolve the printing press to a printer in the modern day world. We are now able to print things much more easier on paper since he created the printing press, and we were able to change it to make it more convenient. -
Modern Day Connection: Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange has effected the world by bringing new and unknown items to each continent. Because of this we were able to research and create new things for what Europe and America exchanged. For example, America gave the cacoa plant to Europe and to further research and learning we were able to make chocolate, a delicious confection we all know today. -
Modern Day Connection: The Stamp Act of 1764
If the Stamp Act wasn't repealed, it would increase the taxes for paper-based items. If we were to compare this to the modern day taxes it would be comparable to GST (goods and services tax). Since the act was repealed, we are now able to enjoy a much more affordable price for paper-based items.