1609-10 - Period in Jamestown Colony history referred to as the Starving Time
1618 - The Headright System was set up by the London company in 1618 that gave 50 acres of land to colonists who paid their own way to Virginia, or paid the way for someone else
1620 - The Pilgrims establish their own government, the basis of which was the Mayflower Compact, which they drafted on their journey to the New World on the Mayflower
1622-1624 - The Powhatan Wars, battles and conflicts in Virginia between colonists and American Native Indians
1624 - Virginia was made a royal colony
1630 - The Great Migration - Mass migration of thousands of English people to the Americas that took place between 1630 and 1640.
1634 - Maryland was settled. King Charles I gave land to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore to create a haven for Catholics in America.
1640 - The Quakers, or Society of Friends, was a Protestant sect founded in England whose members believed that salvation was available to all people
1651,1660,1663 - The Navigation Acts. The colonies represent a lucrative source of wealth and trade. Navigation Acts regulate colonial trade and enable England to collect duties (taxes)
1663 - Carolina was settled. Eight men received charters for the Carolinas in 1663 from King Charles II to settle lands south of Virginia. The area was called Carolina. The main port was called Charles Town (Charleston) after the king.
1729 - North and South Carolina became separate royal colonies.
1673 - The Plantation Duty Act
1675 - The Lords of Trade are appointed in England to enforce the new mercantile system and maximize potential profits for England
1675-l676 - Bacon's Rebellion. Bacon's Rebellion was an uprising in 1676 - 1677 against American Indians and the colonial government in the Virginia Colony and Bacon's Declaration of the People
1677 - Culpeper’s Rebellion: Rebellion against the colonial government in Carolina in 1677 and the Navigation Acts led by John Culpeper. The rebellion succeeded in disposing the governor and placing Culpeper in his position, but he was removed in 1679
1686 - Formation of New England - King James II combines the colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth, Rhode Island, New York, New Hampshire, East Jersey and West Jersey into a single colony: The Dominion of New England.
1688 - King James II appoints Sir Edmund Andros to serve as Captain General and Governor in Chief of New England. Sir Edmund Andros causes dissension with the colonists as he does not have to answer to any elected assembly
1688 - 1763 - The French and Indian Wars between France and Great Britain for lands in North America
Feb 13, 1689 - The Glorious Revolution. The Protestant William III and Mary II officially replace the Catholic James II as monarchs of England. The English Bill of Rights which enables Parliament to control laws and taxes
Mar 1689 - Glorious Revolution Sparks Revolt in the colonies. Boston militiamen seize Governor-in-Chief Andros and put him in jail. The New England colonies begin to re-establish governments.
1696 - Salutary Neglect. The British government establishes the Board of Trade to oversee colonial policies practicing a policy of "Salutary Neglect," in which it gives the colonies considerable freedom in economic matters.
1707 - The Union between England and Scotland created the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain' and the term British, as opposed to English, is then used in reference to the colonists in North America.
1711-1713 - The Tuscarora War in Northern Carolina. The Tuscarora tribe was defeated by James Moore and Yamasee warriors
1715 The Yamasee War - An Indian confederation came close to wiping out the white settlements in Southern Carolina
1733 1733 - Georgia is settled. James Oglethorpe receives a charter to create a colony between South Carolina and Florida. Georgia became a royal colony in 1752.
1758 The Anglo-Cherokee War (1758–1761) - The Cherokee uprising in present-day Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas.
1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763 bringing the introduction of the massive boundary, which was the Proclamation Line between the colonies and Indian Territories
1764 Sugar Act
1765 1765 The Stamp Act of 1765
1765 The Sons of Liberty was an an organization (a secret society) formed by American Patriots who opposed British measures against the colonists, and agitated for resistance
1767 1767 Townshend Acts
1773 Tea Act
1775 March 23, 1775 - Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech in St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia.
1775 The American Revolution (1775- 1783) ended the Colonial America Time Period
1776 A document declaring the US to be independent of the British Crown was signed on July 4, 1776, by the congressional representatives of the 13 Colonies