European Voyages of Exploration Explorations and first Colonies Colonial America Early American and Colonial Period Maps English Rulers: Elizabeth I 1558-1603 James I 1603 - 1625 1492 Christopher Columbus sets foot on the "New World" (San Salvador and West Indies). Columbus' Journal. 1st Voyage: 1492-93;, 1493 Christopher Columbus' 2nd voyage 1493-1496 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal. 1497 John Cabot explores Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland 1497 Amerigo Vespucci: Account of his 1st voyage 1498 Christopher Columbus: 3rd voyage 1498-1500 1502 Christopher Columbus: 4th voyage 1502-04. 1507 The name "America" is first used in a geography book referring to the New World with Amerigo Vespucci getting credit for the discovery of the continent. 1513 Juan Ponce De Leon establishes a colony at St. Augustine, Florida. 1519 Hernando Cortes invades Mexico. 1524 Verrazano and Gomez explore the New England coast 1534 Jacques Cartier explores the St. Lawrence River 1539 Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay in Florida and begins his bloody expedition across the southeast. 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado leads an expedition of 300 conquistadors and Indian "allies" to the Colorado River. 1541 De Soto discovers the Mississippi River. 1542 Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo is sent on a naval expedition up the California coastline. 1552 Bartolome de Las Casa, the first priest ordained in the Western hemisphere and chief architect of Spain's "New Laws" against Indian enslavement, publishes Brief Relations of the Destruction of the Indies 1564 Sir Walter Raleigh discovers Virginia. 1579 Francis Drake explores the coast of California. (The Golden Hind) 1584 Raleigh's first expedition to America (Elizabeth's charter) . Richard Hakluyt: Discourse of Western Planting 1587 Viginia Dare is the first British colonist born in "The Lost Colony." 1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada. Beginning of English colonization. . Thomas Hariot: A Briefe and True Report of the New-Found Land of Virginia 1595 Sir Walter Raleigh explores the Orinoco. 1603 Samuel de Champlain explores the Great Lakes and Quebec 1604 Samuel de Champlain : Voyages; Champlain's map (1607) 1606 King James I sets up the Virginia Company of London. Instructions for the Colony; First Virginia Charter 1607 Jamestown founded by the Virginia Company. John Smith meets Powhatan and Pocahontas. 1608 Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec, first permanent French colony on the continent. 1609 Henry Hudson explores Hudson Bay for the Dutch. James I encourages the colonization of North America 1617 Pocahontas dies in England. 1618 Sir Walter Raleigh executed. 1619 Virginia colonists are given the right to self government. The first African Slaves are brought to Jamestown. Colonial America Early American and Colonial Period Maps Early American and Colonial Literature to 1700 The first settlers Enlightenment English Rulers: James I 1603 - 1625 Charles I 1625-1649 Commonwealth 1649 - 1660 Charles II 1660-1685 James II 1685 - 1688 William III and Mary II 1689 - 1702 Anne 1702 - 1714 George I 1714-1727 George II 1727-1760 George III 1760-1820 1620 Mayflower: The Pilgrim Fathers leave Plymouth (GB) for Virginia, but land in Massachusetts, at a site they call Plymouth. Eventually, they establish 13 colonies: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. 1621 First Thanksgiving of the Pilgrim Fathers. 1623 Dutch settlements at New Amsterdam 1630 John Winthrop: A Model of Christian Charity Captain John Smith: The True Travels, Adventures and Observations of Captain John Smith in Europe, Asia, Africa and America (excerpts) 1631 Captain John Smith: Advertisements for the Inexperienced Planters of New England, or Anywhere or The Pathway To Experience to Erect a Plantation. 1637 Pequot War: First war between settlers and Indians. (an account) 1643 Roger Williams: A Key Into the Languages of America 1647 Peter Stuyvesant appointed by the Dutch West India Company as the governor of their colony of New Amsterdam. 1650 Anne Bradstreet: The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America 1651 William Bradford (1590-1657) : History of Plymouth Plantation 1662 Michael Wigglesworth: The Day of Doom 1655 Peter Stuyvesant conquers the Swedes in Delaware. 1664 The English conquer New Amsterdam. New Jersey is given by King Charles II to his brother, the Duke of York. 1675 King Philip's War. King Philip, a Wampanoag Indian, leads his people against settlers in Swansea 1676 Nathaniel Bacon writes the "Declaration of the People of Virginia." 1678 King Philip's War is formally brought to an end. La Salle finds Niagara Falls while exploring Canada. 1681 William Penn receives a royal charter to set up Pennsylvania. 1682 Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, and Henri de Tonti complete a four-month voyage to the mouth of the Mississippi, claiming the entire Mississippi Valley for France (Louisiana). William Penn: Frame of the Government of Pennsylvania, Charter of Libertie 1685 French Huguenot settlers come to America after King Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes. 1686 Edmond Andros Gouvernor of New England. 1688 The earliest known antislavery tract is released in the colonies by the Quakers at Germantown, Pennsylvania. 1689 King William's War (1689-1697) begins when the combined forces of the French and the Indians attack towns in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials 1697 The Treaty of Ryswick ends King William's War and restores all colonial possessions to pre-war ownership 1699 Pirate Captain William Kidd is captured and sent to England (executed in 1701). British Wool Act forbids the export of wool from Ireland and from the American colonies. 1702 Queen Anne's War (1702-1713) 1706 Benjamin Franklin born. 1713 Treaty of Utrecht ends Queen Anne's War. 1718 New Orleans is established by the French. 1729 William Byrd: History of the Dividing Line Benjamin Franklin: A Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of Paper Currency 1732 Franklin: Poor Richard's Almanack 1741 Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov explore the coast of Alaska for the Russians. 1752 Britain and the colonies under its control adopt the Gregorian calendar. 1753 George Berkeley writes: "Westward the course of empire takes its way." 1754 The French and Indian War (1754-1763) . John Woolman: "Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes" 1759 British Major General James Wolfe captures Quebec 1763 The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War and the European Seven Years War: Canadian territories go to Great Britain (Ile Royal, the Great Lakes Bassin and the east bank of the Mississippi). (Royal Proclamation), the British tax the colonists to pay for the war. 1769 California Missions: Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan, establishes the Mission San Diego de Alcala as the first in a planned string of settlements along the coast of Spain's California territory. 1770 "Boston Massacre" : British troops fire on a rock throwing crowd. 1772 Gaspee Affair: naval battle off the coast of Rhode Island. . Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists 1773 Boston Tea Party 1774 Martial Law is declared in Massachussetts. The Minute Men are established in America The American Revolution and the War of Independence 1776 - 82 American Literature (1700-1800): Reason and Revolution George III 1760-1820 1775- 1783 American Revolution, American War of Independence 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord. George Washington is appointed to Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. King George III officially declares a state of open rebellion in the American colonies 1776 The United States declares its Independence from Britain. Declaration of Independence signed .. Thomas Paine: Common Sense Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations 1778 France declares war on Britain over America. James Cook discovers Hawaii (the Sandwich Islands) Treaty with the Delawares. (Other treaties with Native Americans) 1779 Spain declares war on Britain. 1780 Britain declares war on Holland. 1781 Lord Cornwallis surrenders to General Washington. John Hanson is elected president of the United States by the Continental Congress. (Followed by Elias Boudinot, 1783; Thomas Mifflin, 1784; Richard Henry Lee, 1785; Nathan Gorman, 1786; Arthur St. Clair, 1787; and Cyrus Griffin, 1788) (Who was the first president?) 1783 The Treaty of Versailles officially ends the American Revolution and the United States (Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) is recognized as a sovereign nation. 1784 Father Junipero Serra dies, having founded the missions of San Diego, San Carlos de Monterey (Carmel), San Antonio de Padua, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco (Dolores), San Juan Capistrano, Santa Clara, San Buena Ventura. Russia establishes its first North American colony on Kodiak Island. 1785 Treaty with the Cherokee 1787 Association for the Abolition of the Slave Trade founded. George Washington presides the convention in Philadelphia.(Congress Resolutions) (Constitution) . Jupiter Hammon: An Address to the Negroes of the State of New York 1789 George Washington elected as president of the United States. French Revolution. Declaration of the Rights of Man. (Déclaration des droits de l'homme).

American History: Colonial America 1789 - 1901 1901 - 2003 Timeline: History of Great Britain