Chronology of Colonial History
| 1492. | First voyage of Columbus. |
| 1496. | Charter to John and Sebastian Cabot. |
| 1497. | John and Sebastian Cabot discover Newfoundland. |
| 1498. | The second voyage of the Cabots. |
| 1500. | Gaspar Corte Real sailed to Newfoundland. |
| 1501. | Gaspar Corte Real wrecked in Chesapeake Bay. |
| 1502. | Miguel Corte Real sailed to search for his brother. |
| 1506. | Denys of Harfleur reached the Gulf of St Lawrence. |
| 1508. | Aubert of Dieppe brought American Indians to France. |
| 1523. | Verrazano sent out by Francis I. |
| 1524. | Verrazano sailed along the coast of North America. |
| 1527. | John Rut and Albert de Prado sailed to Newfoundland. |
| 1534. | Jacques Cartier of St Malo sailed to the St Lawrence. |
| 1535. | Jacques Cartier’s second voyage. He reached Stadacona. |
| 1536. | Master Hore was wrecked on Newfoundland. |
| 1541-42. | Cartier’s third voyage, joined by De Roberval. |
| 1553. | Voyages of Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor. |
| 1562. | Jean Ribault’s expedition to Florida. |
| 1564-65. | René de Laudonniere sailed to the Carolinas. |
| 1565. | The French settlement destroyed by the Spaniard Menendez. |
| 1576. | Martin Frobisher’s first voyage. |
| 1577. | Martin Frobisher’s second voyage, and discovery of Meta Incognita. |
| 1577-80. | Drake’s voyage round the world. |
| 1578. | Martin Frobisher’s third voyage. |
| Grant of a patent for colonisation to Sir Humphrey Gilbert. | |
| 1583. | Newfoundland claimed as an English colony. |
| 1584. | Sir Walter Raleigh sends out Captains Amidas and Barlow. |
| 1585. | Raleigh’s first Virginian colony. |
| 1586. | The colonists brought back by Drake. |
| 1587. | Raleigh’s second attempt. |
| 1589. | First edition of Hakluyt’s Voyages published. |
| 1598. | Second and complete edition of Hakluyt;s Voyages. |
| Marquis de la Roche attempts to found a convict settlement. | |
| 1599. | Chauvin and Pontgravé attempt a settlement at Tadoussac. |
| 1602. | De Chastes obtains the services of Samuel Champlain. |
| Bartholomew Gosnold makes a voyage to the West. | |
| 1603. | The voyage of the Discovery and the Speedwell to America. |
| De la Roche’s settlers rescued from Sable Island. | |
| Samuel Champlain sailed up the St Lawrence. | |
| De Monts otained a patent to colonise Acadia. | |
| 1604. | De Chastes joined to De Monts and established Port Royal. |
| 1605. | Samuel Champlain remained the winter in Acadia. |
| 1606. | Relief arrived. The expedition included Lescarbot, the historian. |
| The formation of the London and Plymouth Companies. | |
| 1607. | The foundation of Jamestown, Virginia. |
| Popham and Gilbert’s expedition to the Kennebec. | |
| 1608. | Champlain founded Quebec. |
| 1609. | Champlain discovered Lake Champlain. |
| Claude Etienne and Charles de la Tour settled on the Penobscot. | |
| Sir George Somers and Sir Thomas Gates sail for Virginia. | |
| 1610. | Lord Delawarr governor of Virginia. |
| 1611. | Sir Thomas Gates governor of Virginia. |
| 1613. | Marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe. |
| Champlain and de Vignau follow the course of the Ottawa. | |
| 1614. | Samuel Argall sacked Port Royal in Acadia. |
| Captain John Smith made a voyage to New England. | |
| 1615. | Champlain and Le Caron came to Lake Huron. |
| 1616. | The Recollet missionaries settled in Canada. |
| 1619. | Sir George Yeardley governor of Virginia. |
| 1620. | Reorganisation of the New England Company. |
| The voyage of the Mayflower and establishment of New Plymouth. | |
| 1621. | Sir William Alexander obtained a patent to colonise Acadia. |
| 1622. | Sir Robert Gordon attempted to settle Cape Breton Island. |
| 1623. | James I. demanded the surrender of the charter of the London Company. |
| A fishinig station at Cape Ann, Massachusetts. | |
| Levitt established a settlement on Casco Bay, Maine. | |
| 1625. | Jesuit missionaries first came to Canada. |
| 1626. | Definite settlement of the Dutch on Manhattan Island. |
| 1627. | Death of Sir George Yeardley. Harvey governor of Virginia. |
| Richelieu establishes the Company of the One Hundred Associates. | |
| 1628. | David Kirke destroyed the French fleet in the St Lawrence. |
| 1629. | David Kirke captured Quebec. |
| Sir Robert Heath received a grant of land south of Virginia. | |
| The establishment of Massachusetts. | |
| 1630. | Winthrop established Boston. |
| La Tour made governor of Acadia. | |
| 1631. | Arrival of Roger Williams in Massachusetts. |
| Lord Saye and Sele and Lord Brooke obtain land on the Connecticut. | |
| Sir Ferdinando Gorges formed a company for colonising Maine. | |
| 1632. | Grant of Maryland to Lord Baltimore. |
| Treaty of St Germain-en-Laye, by which Quebec was restored to the French. | |
| 1634. | Champlain built a fort at Three Rivers. |
| 1635. | Champlain died. |
| Maine granted to Sir Ferdinando Gorges. | |
| Captain John Mason established New Hampshire. | |
| Foundation of Providence by Roger Williams. | |
| Winthrop, the younger, governor of Connecticut. | |
| Harry Vane, Mrs Anne Hutchinson, and John Wheelwright come to Massachusetts. | |
| The Pequod War. | |
| 1636. | The foundation of Harvard College. |
| De Montmagny succeeded Champlain. | |
| 1637. | The foundation of Rhode Island. |
| Theophilus Eaton founded New Haven. | |
| 1638. | Minuit’s Swedish settlement. |
| 1640. | Union of Rhode Island and Providence. |
| 1642. | Conformity Act in Virginia. |
| Fort Richelieu (Sorel) founded. | |
| 1643. | The New England Confederacy. |
| 1647. | Peter Stuyvesant made governor of the New Netherlands. |
| 1649. | Toleration Act in Maryland. |
| 1650. | Sir William Berkeley commissioned by Charles II. |
| 1651. | Sir George Ayscue sent to subdue the West. |
| 1651-58. | The towns of Maine under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. |
| 1652. | Richard Bennet governor of Virginia. |
| 1653. | Le Moyne, the Jesuit, sent as an envoy to the Iroquois. |
| 1654. | War with the Nyantic Indians. |
| Stephenson took Acadia. | |
| 1655. | Peter Stuyvesant captured the Swedish settlements |
| Edward Digges, Governor of Virginia. | |
| Victory of the Protestants at Providence, Maryland. | |
| 1657. | Lord Baltimore restored in Maryland. |
| 1659. | Josias Fendall, Governor of Maryland. |
| 1661. | Royal Commissioners sent to the colonies. |
| 1662. | Charles Calvert made Governor of Maryland. |
| Charter granted to Connecticut. | |
| 1663. | Charter granted to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas. |
| Canada became a Royal Province. | |
| 1664. | Colbert created the Company of the West. |
| Richard Nicolls captured New Amsterdam. | |
| 1665. | Attempt of De Ruyter to retake New Amsterdam. |
| Marquis de Tracy made Lieutenant-General of Canada. | |
| 1666. | Courcelles attacked the Iroquois. |
| The Treaty of Breda. | |
| La Salle arrived in Canada. | |
| 1667. | Locke’s Fundamental Constitutions for the Carolinas. |
| Terrific gale in Maryland and Virginia. | |
| 1668. | Francis Lovelace made Governor of New York. |
| Jacques Marquette, a missioner on Lake Superior. | |
| 1669. | La Salle supposed to have discovered the Ohio. |
| 1670. | Incorporation of the Hudson Bay Company. |
| William Sayle came from the Barbadoes to South Carolina. | |
| 1671. | Sir John Yeamans, Governor of South Carolina. |
| 1672. | Count Frontenac made Governor of Canada. |
| Grants in Virginia to Lords Arlington and Culpeper. | |
| 1673. | Cornelius Eversen retook New York. |
| The establishment of Fort Frontenac. | |
| Joliet and Marquette reach the Mississippi. | |
| 1674. | Death of Marquette. |
| The Treaty of Westminster restored New York to the English. | |
| Carteret and Berkeley given rights in New Jersey. | |
| Joseph West made Governor of South Carolina. | |
| 1674-1676. | King Philip’s War. |
| 1675. | Death of Cecil, Lord Baltimore. |
| 1677. | The end of Berkeley’s rule in Virginia. |
| Thomas Eastchurch, Governor of Carolina. | |
| 1678. | Massachusetts purchased all rights over Maine. |
| La Salle given leave to discover the western parts of New France. | |
| La Salle, De Tonty, and Father Hennepin allied as discoverers. | |
| Fort Niagara built. | |
| 1679. | La Salle sailed up Lakes Erie and Michigan. |
| 1680. | La Salle built Fort Crèvecœur on the lower Illinois |
| Father Hennpin travelled on the upper Mississippi. | |
| Edward Byllinge and certain Quakers encouraged to colonise Delaware. | |
| 1681. | William Penn founded Pennsylvania |
| Limitation of the franchise in Maryland. | |
| 1681-1682. | La Salle descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. |
| 1682. | End of Frontenac’s first government of Canada. |
| Formation of the “Compagni du Nord.” | |
| 1682-1683. | La Salle established a French colony on the Illinois. |
| 1682-1684. | New Hampshire governed by Edward Cranfield. |
| 1683. | Seth Sothel, Governor of Nort Carolina. |
| Thomas Dongan, Governor of New York. | |
| 1684. | La Vallière, Governor of Acadia, succeeded by Perrot. |
| Lord Howard of Effingham, Governor of Virginia. | |
| The Five Nations allied with the English at Albany. | |
| 1684-1685. | La Salle’s expedition to Texas. |
| 1684-1687. | The Mississippi Scheme. |
| 1685. | The Marquis de Denonville, Governor of Canada. |
| The English colonies lose their charters. | |
| Francis Nicholson, Deputy-Governor of New York. | |
| Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. | |
| 1686. | Sir Edmund Andros in Massachusetts. |
| 1687. | Death of La Salle. |
| The Marquis de Denonville defeated the Iroquois. | |
| 1688. | The Revolution in England. |
| Sir Edmund Andros plundered Pentegost. | |
| 1689. | Denonville destroyed Fort Frontenac. |
| Count Frontenac appointed Governor of Canada for the second time. | |
| Count Frontenac sent three raiding parties into New England. | |
| Du Luth defeated the Iroquois on the Ottawa. | |
| William Penn lost his proprietary rights. | |
| Leisler’s rising in New York. | |
| 1690. | Congress of the colonies at Albany. |
| Colonel Sloughter suppressed Leisler’s rising. | |
| Port Royal taken by Sir William Phipps. | |
| Sir William Phipps led an expedition against Quebec. | |
| 1691. | Successful attack of the English on La Prairie. |
| New Plymouth incorporated within Massachusetts. | |
| Maryland placed under the direct control of the Crown. | |
| 1692. | Benjamin Fletcher, Governor of New York. |
| Andrew Hamilton, Governor of New Jersey. | |
| Villebon re-occupied Port Royal. | |
| French attacks on the coast of Maine. | |
| 1693. | Canadians and Indians attacked the Mohawk towns. |
| D’Iberville reconnoitred Fort Pemaquid. | |
| English expedition to recover the forts on James Bay. | |
| Establishment of William and Mary College, Virginia. | |
| 1694. | Proprietary rights restored to William Penn. |
| End of the rule of Sir William Phipps in Massachusetts. | |
| La Mothe Cadillac sent to command Michillimackinac. | |
| 1695. | Fort Frontenac was re-occupied. |
| Sir William Phipps died. | |
| 1696. | Frontenac, Callières, and Vaudreuil attacked the Iroquois. |
| D’Iberville took Fort Pemaquid from Chubb. | |
| 1696-1726. | Rhode Island governed by Samuel Cranston. |
| 1697. | Abortive French expedition under the Marquis de Nesmond against Boston. |
| D’Iberville took Fort Nelson. | |
| The Treaty of Ryswick. | |
| 1698. | Establishment of a college in Connecticut. |
| Frontenac died at Quebec. | |
| 1698-1701. | Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire governed by Lord Bellomont. |
| 1699. | First colonisation of Louisiana by Le Moyne d’Iberville. |
| 1701. | La Mothe Cadillac founded Detroit. |
| Penn left Pennsylvania. | |
| Execution of the pirate Captain Kidd. | |
| Lord Cornbury succeeded Lord Bellomont. | |
| 1702. | The Proprietors resigned their rights over New Jersey. |
| 1702-1713. | Queen Anne’s War. |
| 1703. | Separation of Delaware from Pennsylvania. |
| Colonel Moore’s attack upon St Augustine. | |
| 1704. | Colonel Moore’s attack upon Apalachee. |
| The French attacked Deerfield. | |
| Major Church threatened Port Royal. | |
| 1706. | The French and Spanish attacked Charleston. |
| 1707. | Colonel March threatened Port Royal. |
| 1708. | The French attacked Haverfield on the Merrimac. |
| Lord Cornbury recalled. | |
| 1709. | Samuel Vetch advocated combined attack on New France. |
| Colonel Francis Nicholson attacked near Lake Champlain the forces of Ramesay, Governor of Montreal. | |
| 1710. | Colonel Francis Nicholson took Port Royal. |
| 1711. | The Walker-Hill expedition against Canada. |
| North Carolina attacked by the Tuscarora Indians. | |
| 1712. | Birth of Montcalm at Nîmes. |
| 1713. | The Treaty of Utrecht. |
| 1715. | Proprietary rights over Maryland restored to the fourth Lord Baltimore. |
| 1716. | North Carolina attacked by the Yamassee Indians. |
| 1718. | Death of William Penn. |
| Bienville, brother of D’Iberville, founded New Orleans. | |
| 1720. | Settlement of German Palatines in New York. |
| Louisburg on Cape Breton began to be important. | |
| The French built a permanent fort at Niagara. | |
| 1723. | The Jesuit Charlevoix recommended a mission among the Sioux. |
| 1724. | Sebastian Rasle, a Jesuit priest, killed on the Kennebec. |
| 1726. | Peace between the Indians and New Englanders. |
| 1727. | Birth of James Wolfe at Westerham, in Kent. |
| The English established a trading centre at Oswego. | |
| Fort Beauharnois built in the Sioux country. | |
| 1729. | Death of Governor Burnet. |
| 1731-1740. | De la Verendrye built forts from Rainy Lake westward. |
| 1731. | Saint Luc de la Corne built Fort St Frederic (Crown Point). |
| 1732. | General Oglethorpe established Georgia. |
| 1734. | Salzburg Germans came to Georgia. |
| 1736. | John Wesley in Georgia. |
| 1738. | George Whitefield in Georgia. |
| 1739-1742. | War in Georgia with the Spaniards. |
| 1742. | The Spaniards attacked St Simons, Carolina. |
| 1743. | General Oglethorpe left Georgia. |
| 1743-1753. | George Clinton, Governor of New York. |
| 1744. | War between England and France. |
| Canso taken by the French. | |
| 1745. | Shirley, Pepperell, and Warren take Louisburg. |
| 1747. | Warren and Anson defeated the French off Cape Finisterre. |
| 1748. | Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. |
| 1749. | Celeron de Bienville registered the claims of France to the Ohio valley. |
| Establishment of Fort Rouillé (Toronto). | |
| Establishment of Halifax. | |
| 1750. | Le Loutre burnt Beaubassin. |
| 1752. | The Marquis Duquesne became Governor of Canada. |
| Georgia passed into the hands of the Crown. | |
| 1753. | Proposal to unite the Thirteen Colonies. |
| Duquesne sent Marin to build forts between the Lakes and the Ohio. Washington sent on a counter expedition. | |
| 1754. | The French built Fort Duquesne. |
| Death of Jumonville. | |
| Washington built Fort Necessity, but obliged to retreat. | |
| 1755. | Braddock’s disaster on the Monongahela. |
| William Johnson’s expedition against Crown Point. | |
| Shirley’s advance on Lake Ontario. | |
| Beausejour taken and renamed Fort Cumberland. | |
| Transportation of the Acadians. | |
| Vaudreuil appointed Governor-General of Canada. | |
| 1756. | Outbreak of the Seven Years’ War. |
| Oswego, under Bradstreet, taken by Montcalm. | |
| Recall of William Shirley. | |
| 1757. | Loudoun and Holborne made an abortive attempt on Louisburg. |
| Fort William Henry taken by Montcalm and Levis. | |
| William Pitt joined Newcastle. | |
| 1758. | Louisburg under Drucour taken by Boscawen, Amherst, and Wolfe. |
| Abercromby defeated at Ticonderoga. Death of Lord Howe. | |
| Fort Frontenac taken by Bradstreet. | |
| Amherst appointed Commander-in-chief in North America. | |
| Fort Duquesne taken by Forbes and renamed Pittsburg. | |
| 1759. | Stanwix sent to Duquesne and Prideaux to Oswego. |
| Fort Niagara taken by Johnson. | |
| Ticonderoga and Crown Point taken by Amherst. | |
| The capture of Quebec. Deaths of Wolfe and Montcalm. | |
| 1760. | The Battle of St Foy. Levis forced the English into Quebec. |
| Relief of Quebec. | |
| Surrender of Montreal to the forces of Amherst, Haviland, and Murray. | |
| 1763. | The Peace of Paris. |
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