1626
- Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland and later buys Manhattan from the Native Americans for items worth approximately $24. He then names the island New Amsterdam.
1627
- Plymouth Colony and New Amsterdam begin trading.
- A shipload of approximately 1500 kidnapped children is sent from England to the Virginia colony to increase the number of settlers in the colony.
1628
- A group of settlers led by John Endecott settle at Salem. This begins the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1629
- The Massachusetts Bay Colony is given a royal charter.
- The Dutch West India Company begins to give land grants to patroons who will bring at least 50 settlers to the colonies.
- John Winthrop is elected the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- King Charles I grants Sir Robert Heath a territory in North America that is to be called Carolina.
1630
- John Winthrop leads over 900 colonists to settle in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- John Winthrop also begins writing the History of New England
Boston is officially established. - William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth colony, begins writing History of Plymouth Plantation.
1631
- Despite the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter, it is decided that only church members are allowed to become freemen who are allowed to vote for colony officials.
- Sir Ferdinando Gorges is given a land grant and begins to settle which will eventually become Maine.
1632
- In the Massachusetts Bay Colony issues such as no taxation without representation and representative government are beginning to be addressed.
- King Charles I grants Lord Baltimore a royal charter to found the Maryland Colony. Since Baltimore is Roman Catholic, the right to religious freedom is granted to Maryland.
1633
- The first town government is organized in the city of Dorchester within the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- The first school in America is founded in New Amsterdam.
1634
- The first settlers for the new Maryland colony arrive in North America.
1635
- Confrontations occur between Virginia and Maryland based on boundary disputes between the two colonies.
- The charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company is revoked. The colony refuses to yield to this, however.
- Roger Williams is ordered banished from Massachusetts after critizing the colony and promoting the idea of separation of church and state.
1636
- The Twonship Act is passed in the Massachusetts Bay general court giving towns the ability to govern themselves to some extent.
- Thomas Hooker arrive in Hartford Connecticut and founds the first church of the territory.
- Roger Williams founds the present-day city of Providence, Rhode Island.
- Open warfare begins with Pequot Indians after the death of New England trader John Oldham.
- Harvard University is founded.
1637
- After numerous encounters, the Pequot Indians are massacred by a force of Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, and Plymouth colonists. The tribe is virtually eliminated.
- Anne Hutchinson is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1638
- Anne Hutchinson leaves for Rhode Island and founds Portsmouth with William Coddington.
- Peter Minuit dies in a shipwreck.
1639
- The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut are enacted.
- Sir Ferdinando Gorges is named the governor of Maine by royal charter.
- New Hampshire Colony settlers sign the Exeter Compact.
1640
- Dutch colonists settle in the Delaware River area.
1641
- Massachusetts Bay Colony takes over the jurisdiction of New Hampshire.
1642
- New Netherland fights against the Hudson River Valley Indians who have been making raids against the colony. Both sides will later sign a truce that will last a year.
1643
- The New England Confederation, also known as the United Colonies of New England, a confederation of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Plymouth, and New Hampshire, is formed.
- Anne Hutchinson is murdered by Indians on Long Island.
1644
- Roger Williams is granted a royal charter for Rhode Island.
1645
- The Dutch and the Hudson River Valley Indians conclude peace after four years of warfare.
- The New England Confederation sign a peace treaty with the Naragansett Indians.
1646
- Massachusetts becomes increasingly intolerant as they pass a law making heresy punishable by death.
1647
- Peter Stuyvesant assumes the leadership of New Netherland.
- Rhode Island General Assembly drafts a constitution allowing for separation of church and state.
1648
- The Dutch and the Swedes compete for the land around present-day Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River. They each build forts and the Swedes burn down the Dutch fort twice.
1649
- King Charles I of the House of Stuart is excommunicated in England. Virginia sides with the house of Stuart.
- Toleration Act is passed in Maryland allowing for religious freedom.
- Maine also passes legislation allowing for religious freedom.
1650
- Maryland is allowed to have a bicameral legislature by order of Lord Baltimore.
- Virginia is blockaded by England after declaring allegiance to the House of Stuart.
Source: Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M., ed. "The Almanac of American History." Barnes & Nobles Books: Greenwich, CT, 1993.
