|
17th Century North Carolina Timeline
Seventeenth-Century North Carolina History Timeline
17th Century North Carolina History Timeline, Life in 17th Century North Carolina, What was it like
in 1600s North Carolina? Life in Early North Carolina List of Early Pioneers Settlers Founders NC
17th Century North Carolina Timeline
Seventeenth-Century North Carolina History Timeline
Seventeenth-Century North Carolina History Timeline
1600-1625
1606
King
James I grants a charter to the Virginia Company of London for the region that includes present-day North Carolina.
1607
Jamestown,
the first successful English colony in the New World, is established in Virginia. The colonists begin using tobacco as a cash
crop for export to England.
1608
Jamestown leader John Smith sends expeditions to the Roanoke Island
area to seek information about the Lost Colony. His men find nothing conclusive.
1611
Because of
Spain’s rivalry with England, the Spanish government develops an alliance with the Tuscarora people to monitor the Jamestown
colony.
1619
A Dutch ship arrives at Jamestown carrying 20 captive African natives. Apparently
these Africans are treated as indentured servants and work in tobacco fields. Their introduction into Virginia sets the stage
for African slavery to develop in English America.
1622
An expedition from Jamestown, led by John
Pory, explores the Chowan River region.
1626-1650
1629
October
30: King Charles I grants land south of Virginia to Sir Robert Heath. Charles names the region Carolina, or Carolana, for
himself.
1650
White settlers begin to move into Indian lands along the coastal sounds and rivers
of North Carolina.
1650–1820
The area of present-day North Carolina serves as a haven for
runaway slaves. Many flee to the Great Dismal Swamp, and some establish communities.
1651-1675
1651
September–October:
Edward Bland travels from Virginia to explore Carolina and publishes a description of the region entitled The Discovery of
New Brittaine.
1653
Virginia legislator Francis Yeardly hires fur trader Nathaniel Batts to explore
the Albemarle Sound region as an area of possible settlement. Yeardly agrees to purchase land from the Roanoke Indians but
dies before his settlement is established.
July: The Virginia Assembly grants lands along the Roanoke and Chowan Rivers
to Roger Green, who has previously explored the region.
ca. 1655
Batts settles along the Chowan
River in a building that serves as both his home and a trading post. He trades with local Native Americans and becomes the
area’s first permanent white settler.
1661
March 1: King Kilcocanen of the Yeopim Indians
grants land to George Durant in the earliest grant on record in the colony.
1663
King Charles II
grants Carolina to eight supporters called Lords Proprietors. The region, which includes present-day North and South Carolina,
stretches from Albemarle Sound in the north to present-day Florida in the south and west to the Pacific Ocean. The Proprietors
divide this land into three counties: Albemarle, Clarendon, and Craven. Scottish merchant William Drummond is appointed governor
of Albemarle County, the only one of the three counties with colonists.
Tobacco becomes a major export crop, although
lack of a deepwater port prevents shipment of goods directly to England.
1663–1667
Colonists
from Boston and Barbados attempt to settle in the Cape Fear region, but no settlements last long. Settlers continue to enter
the colony from the north, but the Cape Fear region will not have permanent colonists until 1725.
1665
June
30: The Lords Proprietors’ charter is amended to include settlements in the Albemarle region previously considered a
part of Virginia.
The Albemarle County Assembly, North Carolina’s earliest legislative assembly, meets for the
first time.
1666
Peter Carteret, assistant governor of Albemarle County, grants a license to three
New England men to hunt whales along Carolina’s northeast coast. This is the earliest known document indicating commercial
whaling in the colony.
1667
August 27: A severe hurricane sweeps along the coast, destroying settlements
in the Cape Fear and Albemarle regions.
1668
May 1: The Great Deed of Grant from the Lords Proprietors
permits Albemarle settlers to hold lands under same terms as colonists in Virginia.
1669
Laws reducing the land tax and giving settlers five years’ immunity from
suits over former debts encourage immigration.
In an attempt to tighten their control over unruly Albemarle colonists,
the Lords Proprietors issue the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, written by John Locke. This document increases the
power of appointed officials, decreases the power of elected officials, and makes ownership of 50 acres of land a requirement
for voting.
1670
The County of Albemarle is divided into Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans, and
Chowan Precincts.
The Ashley River settlement (present-day Charleston, S.C.) is founded. Its excellent port makes it
easy for people there to ship goods to England.
1672
George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends
(Quakers), and missionary William Edmundson visit Albemarle and convert many colonists to Quakerism. Edmundson preaches the
first sermon in the colony near the site of Hertford. Quakers will become the first religious body to obtain a foothold in
Carolina and the only communion of importance before 1700.
1673
The Plantation Duty Act requires
that all colonies trade directly with England or face heavy duties on goods. Albemarle colonists resist because their lack
of an adequate harbor requires them to ship goods to northern colonies before they can be shipped to England. Albemarle governor
John Jenkins refuses to enforce the act.
1675
Chowanoc Indians attack white settlements in Carolina.
The uprising is quelled with the "loss of many men."
Factionalism emerges in the colony between newer residents, who
favor Proprietary rule, and older settlers, who disagree with the way the Proprietors rule Albemarle. Two leaders of the Proprietary
faction, Thomas Eastchurch and Thomas Miller, clash with Governor John Jenkins, a leader of anti-Proprietary sentiment. Jenkins
jails Miller for “treasonable utterances” and attempts to dissolve the assembly. The majority of that body disagrees
with Jenkins, however, and he is deposed and jailed.
1676-1699
1676
By March, Jenkins is released and resumes the post of governor.
Eastchurch and Miller go to England to try to sway the Lords Proprietors in their favor. The Proprietors side with Eastchurch
and appoint him governor. But Eastchurch delays his return to Carolina and, without authority to do so, appoints Miller as
acting governor.
1677
Albemarle settlers market 2,000 hogsheads of tobacco, receiving £20,000 for
the year’s crop.
Thomas Miller rules Albemarle harshly and raises tobacco taxes, becoming increasingly unpopular
with the inhabitants.
December: John Culpeper and George Durant lead “Culpeper’s Rebellion” against
Miller and take over the government for eighteen months, until the summer of 1679. Eastchurch threatens to retake control
but dies in 1678 before he can reach Albemarle.
1679
The de facto government of Carolina sends
Culpeper to England to negotiate with the Lords Proprietors. Miller beats him there, however, and Culpeper finds himself charged
with treason and embezzlement. He agrees to face trial and, with the support of several Proprietors, is acquitted. The court
agrees that there was no regular acting government in the colony at the time of the rebellion, and therefore the rebels did
not act in a treasonous manner.
The Proprietors appoint John Harvey as the colony’s next governor. Harvey is
well liked by the colonists but dies within a year.
October 10: Virginia bans the importation of Carolina tobacco on
the grounds that "the importation of trash greatly injures the reputation of the Virginia manufacture." However, Carolina
tobacco still goes to Virginia.
1680
John Jenkins is reappointed governor for one year. Seth Sothel
holds the office next and becomes known as a corrupt and oppressive governor.
1684
February 27:
Considering "the great damage that does arise in his Majesty’s service by harboring and encouraging pirates in Carolina,"
the Committee for Trade and Plantations sends a “Draught of the law now in force in Jamaica against Pirates and Privateers,”
with instructions that it take effect as a statute of Carolina.
1686
The 1669 law exempting persons
in the colony from prosecution for debts contracted abroad is repealed.
1688
Found guilty of 13
charges, including tyranny, extortion, and bribery, Governor Seth Sothel is removed from office by the Lords Proprietors.
1689
The
Proprietors appoint Philip Ludwell governor of Albemarle and the entire colony “north and east of the Cape Feare.”
This splits Carolina into two political entities—"North" Carolina and "South" Carolina.
1690s
Cherokee
traders establish trade agreements with the English at Charles Towne (present-day Charleston, S.C.).
1691
Governor
Ludwell is sent south to Charles Towne to govern all of Carolina. A deputy governor is appointed to manage the area known
as North Carolina.
1696
Albemarle County establishes a new settlement south of Albemarle Sound
on land taken from the Pamlico Indians. This settlement becomes Bath County.
1698
Henry White,
a prominent Quaker in Perquimans Precinct, writes the first known poem in North Carolina, a long, untitled religious poem
about the "fall of man" and his "restoration by Jesus Christ."
Source: North Carolina Museum of History
Recommended Reading: Encyclopedia of North Carolina (Hardcover: 1328 pages) (The University of North
Carolina Press). Description: The first single-volume
reference to the events, institutions, and cultural forces that have defined the state, the Encyclopedia of North Carolina
is a landmark publication that will serve those who love and live in North Carolina
for generations to come. Editor William S. Powell, whom the Raleigh News & Observer described as a "living repository
of information on all things North Carolinian," spent fifteen years developing this volume. With contributions by more than
550 volunteer writers—including scholars, librarians, journalists, and many others—it is a true "people's encyclopedia"
of North Carolina. Continued below...
The volume
includes more than 2,000 entries, presented alphabetically, consisting of longer essays on major subjects, briefer entries,
and short summaries and definitions. Most entries include suggestions for further reading. Centered on history and the humanities,
topics covered include agriculture; arts and architecture; business and industry; the Civil War; culture and customs; education;
geography; geology, mining, and archaeology; government, politics, and law; media; medicine, science, and technology; military
history; natural environment; organizations, clubs, and foundations; people, languages, and immigration; places and historic
preservation; precolonial and colonial history; recreation and tourism; religion; and transportation. An informative and engaging
compendium, the Encyclopedia of North Carolina is abundantly illustrated with 400 photographs and maps. It is both a celebration
and a gift—from the citizens of North Carolina, to the citizens of North Carolina.
"Truly an exhaustive and exciting view of every aspect of the Old
North State!”
Recommended Reading: Roanoke Island: The Beginnings of English America.
Description: Well
before the Jamestown
settlers first sighted the Chesapeake Bay or the Mayflower reached the coast of Massachusetts,
the first English colony in America was established on Roanoke
Island. David Stick tells the story of that fascinating period in North
Carolina's past, from the first expedition by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584 to the mysterious disappearance
of what has become known as the lost colony. The
fate of the colonists left on Roanoke Island by John White in 1587 is a mystery that continues
to haunt historians. A relief ship sent in 1590 found that the settlers had vanished. Stick makes available all of the evidence
on which historians over the centuries have based their conjectures. Methodically reconstructing the facts—and exposing
the hoaxes—he invites readers to draw their own conclusions concerning what happened. Continued below...
Included in the
colorful cast of characters are the renowned Elizabethans Sir Francis Drake and Sir Richard Grenville; the Indian Manteo,
who received the first Protestant baptism in the New World; and Virginia Dare, the first child born of English parents in
America. Roanoke Island narrates the daily
affairs as well as the perils that the colonists experienced, including their relationships with the Roanoacs, Croatoans,
and the other Indian tribes. Stick shows that the Indians living in northeastern North
Carolina—so often described by the colonists as savages—had actually developed very well
organized social patterns.
Recommended Reading: The Tar Heel State:
A History of North Carolina (Hardcover). Description:
The Tar Heel State: A History of North Carolina constitutes the most comprehensive and inclusive single-volume chronicle of
the state’s storied past to date, culminating with an attentive look at recent events that have transformed North Carolina into a southern megastate. Integrating tales of famous
pioneers, statesmen, soldiers, farmers, captains of industry, activists, and community leaders with more marginalized voices,
including those of Native Americans, African Americans, and women, Milton Ready gives readers a view of North Carolina that
encompasses perspectives and personalities from the coast, "tobacco road," the Piedmont, and the mountains in this sweeping
history of the Tar Heel State. The first such volume in more than two decades, Ready’s work offers a distinctive view
of the state’s history built from myriad stories and episodes. The Tar Heel State is enhanced by one hundred and ninety
illustrations and five maps. Continued below...
Ready begins
with a study of the state’s geography and then invites readers to revisit dramatic struggles of the American Revolution
and Civil War, the early history of Cherokees, the impact of slavery as an institution, the rise of industrial mills, and
the changes wrought by modern information-based technologies since 1970. Mixing spirited anecdotes and illustrative statistics,
Ready describes the rich Native American culture found by John White in 1585, the chartered chaos of North Carolina’s
proprietary settlement, and the chronic distrust of government that grew out of settlement patterns and the colony’s
early political economy. He challenges the perception of relaxed intellectualism attributed to the "Rip van Winkle" state,
the notion that slavery was a relatively benign institution in North Carolina,
and the commonly accepted interpretation of Reconstruction in the state. Ready also discusses how the woman suffrage movement
pushed North Carolina into a hesitant twentieth-century
progressivism. In perhaps his most significant contribution to North Carolina’s
historical record, Ready continues his narrative past the benchmark of World War II and into the twenty-first century. From
the civil rights struggle to the building of research triangles, triads, and parks, Ready recounts the events that have fueled
North Carolina’s accelerated development in recent years and the many challenges that have accompanied such rapid growth,
especially those of population change and environmental degradation.
Recommended Reading: A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present. Review: Consistently lauded for its lively, readable prose, this revised and updated edition
of A People's History of the United States turns traditional textbook history
on its head. Howard Zinn infuses the often-submerged voices of blacks, women, American Indians, war resisters, and poor laborers
of all nationalities into this thorough narrative that spans American history from Christopher Columbus's arrival to an afterword
on the Clinton presidency. Addressing his trademark reversals
of perspective, Zinn--a teacher, historian, and social activist for more than 20 years—explains: "My point is not that
we must, in telling history, accuse, judge, condemn Columbus
in absentia. It is too late for that; it would be a useless scholarly exercise in morality. Continued below…
But the easy
acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save Western
civilization; Kronstadt and Hungary, to
save socialism; nuclear proliferation, to save us all)--that is still with us. One reason these atrocities are still with
us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth."
If your last experience of American history was brought
to you by junior high school textbooks--or even if you're a specialist--get ready for the other side of stories you may not
even have heard. With its vivid descriptions of rarely noted events, A People's History of the United
States is required reading for anyone who wants to take a fresh look at the rich, rocky history of America. "Thought-provoking,
controversial, and never dull..."
|
