-
In 1607, the settlement of Jamestown was established as the first European Settlement in North America. Founded by the British, Jamestown is the oldest city in America -
In 1610, Spanish colonizers officially established Santa Fe. The second oldest city in America but the first permanent European settlement in the Southwest -
In 1614, the Dutch West India Company established New Amsterdam and "purchased" Manhattan from the native tribe. -
In 1619, the Virginia House of Burgesses meets and officially creates the continents first representative assembly -
In August of 1619, an estimated 30 slaves arrived in Hampton Virginia, and were offered in exchange for supplies -
In 1620, the Mayflower landed in modern-day Massachusetts. Before disembarking the ship, settlers wrote a set of rules known as the "Mayflower compact" which is the first set of rules and government established in the Americas -
In 1621, settlers were in dire need of assistance with agriculture and general survival from the land. Former slave Squanto assisted and settlers celebrated with the inaugural "Thanksgiving" -
In 1632, a 12 million acre tract of land was set aside for English Catholics fleeing persecution in the mainland -
In the summer of 1664, British convoys sailed to New Amsterdam to take the colony for themselves. Shortly thereafter, the Dutch surrendered the land to the British and it was then renamed, New York.
-
In 1681, William Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a haven for religious puritans know as the Quakers and based the colony on religious tolerance -
In 1682, Robert LaSalle claimed the Louisiana territory for France with large plans for the port of New Orleans -
In 1693, the Salem Witch Trials took hold of Salem Massachusetts with men and women being tried as witches with no real evidence. Due to the paranoia, many of these people were executed or died in prison. This became a bookmark in the future of United States law proceedings to avoid similar tragedies.
