Key Figures and Events in Early American History

The Vikings

Norse explorers who reached North America (Vinland) around 1000 AD, predating Columbus.

Captain Thomas Preston

A British officer involved in the Boston Massacre (1770), highlighting tensions between the American colonists and British rule before the American Revolution.

Daughters of Liberty

A group of women who protested British policies, especially the Townshend Acts, by boycotting British goods.

Pocahontas

A Powhatan woman who helped bridge relations between Native Americans and English settlers in Virginia.

The Columbian Exchange

The transfer of goods, crops, animals, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds, fundamentally reshaping global history.

Disease

European diseases like smallpox decimated Native American populations, drastically affecting indigenous societies.

Powhatan

The leader of the Powhatan Confederacy, which played a key role in early English settlement interactions, particularly with Jamestown.

The Virginia Company

A joint-stock company that established Jamestown in 1607, demonstrating early English colonial investment and mercantilism.

Richard Frethorne

An indentured servant in Virginia who wrote letters describing the hardships of colonial life.

Headright System

A land grant system that encouraged settlement in Virginia by giving land to colonists who paid for their own or others' passage.

Tobacco

The cash crop that saved Jamestown's economy and fueled colonial expansion.

Indentured Servants

Workers who agreed to labor for a set number of years in exchange for passage to the New World.

John Winthrop

The Puritan leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who envisioned it as a model Christian society.

East Anglia Puritans

Many Puritans who settled in New England originated from East Anglia in England.

Middle Colonies

A diverse colonial region (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware) known for religious tolerance, economic variety, and mixed farming.

William Penn

The Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, promoting religious freedom and good relations with Native Americans.

Quakers

A religious group that settled in Pennsylvania, advocating pacifism, equality, and religious tolerance.

Acadians

French settlers in Nova Scotia who were expelled by the British in the 18th century.

The Best Poor Man's Country...

A phrase describing Pennsylvania as a land of opportunity for poor European immigrants.

James Wolfe

A British general who led the decisive victory against the French at the Battle of Quebec (1759).

The Battle of Quebec

A pivotal battle in the French and Indian War (1759), resulting in British control over Canada.

Stamp Act

A 1765 British tax on printed materials in the colonies, sparking widespread protests.