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James Town Founded
The founding of Jamestown was Americas first permanent English colony in Virginia. They named their first colony after their King, James I. They picked this site for Jamestown because the site was surrounded by water on three sides. This meant it was easy to defend against possible Spanish attacks. The water was also deep enough that the English could tie their ships at the shoreline. -
First African Slaves
Slavery in America started in 1619, when a Dutch ship brought 20 African slaves into Jamestown, Virginia. Throughout the 17th century, North America started to turned to African slaves as a cheaper, more plentiful source of labor. -
Massachusetts Bay Founded
Massachusetts Bay Colony is one of the original English settlements in present-day Massachusetts, founded in 1628 and settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees from England. -
First Navigation Act Passed
The Navigation Acts were a series of laws designed to restrict England’s carrying trade to English ships in the 17th and 18th centuries. Their efforts were to put the theory of mercantilism (the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances) into actual practice. In 1651 the First Navigation Act was passed. -
Bacons Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. Bacon's Rebellion can be attributed to the declining of tobacco prices, an increasing and restricted English market, and the rising prices from English manufactured goods (mercantilism) that caused problems for the Virginians. -
The Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution (“The Bloodless Revolution") involved the overthrow of King James II, who was replaced by his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. Motives for the revolution were both political and religious. This Revolution took place in England from 1688-1689. -
King William's War
King William’s War was between France and England for supremacy in North America. The main goal was the control of all the fur trade. King William's War was the first of the French and Indian Wars. It took place in North America in 1689. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. Over 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed. A "witchcraft craze" even rippled through Europe.