TIMELINE

1550–1630

  • English crown supports mercantilism

1556–1598

  • Reign of Philip II, king of Spain

1558–1603

  • Reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England

1577–1580

  • Francis Drake’s Golden Hind circles the globe, captures Spanish treasure fleet

1560–1620

  • Growth of English Puritan movement

1588

  • Storms and English ships destroy Spanish Armada

1603–1625

  • Reign of James I, king of England

1607

  • English traders settle Jamestown (Virginia)

1608

  • Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec

1609

  • Henry Hudson explores North America for the Dutch

1614

  • Dutch set up fur-trading post at Fort Orange (Albany)

1619

  • First Africans arrive in Chesapeake region

  • House of Burgesses convenes in Virginia

1620

  • Pilgrims found Plymouth Colony

1620–1660

  • Chesapeake colonies enjoy tobacco boom

1621

  • Dutch West India Company chartered

1622

  • Opechancanough’s uprising

1624

  • Virginia becomes royal colony

1625–1649

  • Reign of Charles I, king of England

1630

  • Puritans found Massachusetts Bay Colony

1634

  • Colonists arrive in Maryland

1636

  • Beginning of Puritan-Pequot War

  • Roger Williams founds Providence

1637

  • Anne Hutchinson banished from Massachusetts Bay

1640sM

  • Iroquois initiate wars over fur trade

1642–1659

  • Puritan Revolution in England

1660

  • Restoration of the English monarchy

  • tobacco prices fall and remain low

1664

  • English conquer New Netherland

1675

  • Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia

1675–1676

  • Metacom’s War in New England

1692

  • Salem witchcraft trials