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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1485 |
- 1485—1508: Henry VII Gaunt. Ruler of England 1485-1508. House of Tudor: Son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, whose father had married the widow of Henry V; descended from Edward III through his mother, Mary Beaufort, via John of Gaunt. By marriage with daughter of Edward IV he united Lancaster and York.HistoricUK
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| 2 | 1497 |
- 2 May 1497: John Cabot sets sail from England on his first successful voyage to North America.CBC CMoH
- 24 Jun 1497: John Cabot discovers Newfoundland.NNDB CBC
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| 3 | 1509 |
- 1509—1547: Henry VIII. Ruler of England 1509-1547. House of Tudor: Only surviving son of Henry VII by Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV.HistoricUK
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| 4 | 1512 |
- 11 Apr 1512: French forces defeat the largely Spanish papal Holy League in the Battle of Ravenna in Italy.AIC WHN
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| 5 | 1513 |
- 2 Apr 1513: Ponce de León discovers and names Florida.AJ FHC
- 22 Apr 1513: Ponce de León is credited with discovering the Gulf Stream.KH CR
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| 6 | 1519 |
- 10 Aug 1519: Magellan sets sail from Seville on a journey around the world.Fordham SIMag
- 8 Nov 1519: New Spain is founded. This includes much of North, South and Central America.GMU npr
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| 7 | 1521 |
- 13 Aug 1521: Tenochtitlán falls to Cortés' conquistadors.KWWL npr
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| 8 | 1524 |
- 17 Jan 1524—8 Jul 1524: Giovanni da Verrazanno sets sail from Madeira, Portugal to explore North America - from North Carolina north to Newfoundland.MM&P AJ
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| 9 | 1534 |
- 20 Apr 1534: Jacques Cartier sets sail from France on his first exploration of the New World.PC LoC
- 9 Jun 1534: French navigator Jacques Cartier begins exploring the St. Lawrence River.LoC WHP
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| 10 | 1535 |
- 19 May 1535: French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail for North America.MM&P CMoH
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| 11 | 1539 |
- 1 Jun 1539: Hernando de Soto makes landfall in Florida beginning his exploration of North America.PGHMS HMdb
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| 12 | 1541 |
- 8 May 1541: Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi.AotC tGLIoAH
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| 13 | 1542 |
- 21 May 1542: Hernando de Soto dies of a fever of the banks of the Mississippi but the expedition goes on.MM&P FE
- 28 Sep 1542: João Rodrigues Cabrilho discovers California.LoC NPS
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| 14 | 1547 |
- 1547—1553: Edward VI. Ruler of England 1547-1553. House of Tudor: Son of Henry VIII, by Jane Seymour, his 3rd queen. Ruled under regents. Was forced to name Lady Jane Grey his successor. Council of State proclaimed her queen July 10, 1553. Mary Tudor won Council, was proclaimed queen July 19, 1553. Mary had Lady Jane Grey beheaded for treason, Feb 1554.HistoricUK
- 16 Jan 1547: Ivan the Terrible becomes the first Czar of Russia.MU JC
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| 15 | 1553 |
- 1553—17 Nov 1558: Mary I. Ruler of England 1553-1558 House of Tudor: Daughter of Henry VIII, by Catherine of Aragon.HistoricUK
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| 16 | 1556 |
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| 17 | 1558 |
- 17 Nov 1558—24 Mar 1603: Elizabeth I. Ruler of England 1558-1603. House of Tudor: Daughter of Henry VIII, by Anne Boleyn.HistoricUK E1
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| 18 | 1562 |
- 1 Mar 1562—1598: A massacre of Huguenots at Vassy, France begins the French Wars of Religion which lasts until 1598.GoogleBooks W&W
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| 19 | 1564 |
- 23 Apr 1564: William Shakespeare's birth is celebrated with this date. He also died this day 52 years later.Shakespeare TIME
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| 20 | 1565 |
- 8 Sep 1565: The oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement within the borders of the continental United States, St. Augustine, Florida, is founded.SA LOC
- 20 Sep 1565: Spanish forces capture the French Huguenot settlement of Fort Caroline in the first European battle on American soil.SIMag PG
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| 21 | 1568 |
|
| 22 | 1569 |
- 1569: Gerardus Mercator presents his cylindrical map projection.LOC
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| 23 | 1570 |
- 20 May 1570: Abraham Ortelius publishes the first modern atlas entitled "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum".LoC Bonhams
- 10 Sep 1570: Spanish Jesuits land in present-day Virginia to establish the short-lived Ajacán Mission.EVA GoogleBooks
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| 24 | 1572 |
- 24 Aug 1572: King Charles IX of France orders the assassination of Huguenot Protestant leaders in Paris that results in the massacre of tens of thousands of Huguenots all across France.MP CT
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| 25 | 1577 |
- 13 Dec 1577: Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England in the Golden Hind on a mission to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World and explore the Pacific Ocean, returning 3 years later as the first British explorer to circumnavigate the earth.History.com LOC
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| 26 | 1579 |
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| 27 | 1580 |
- 26 Sep 1580: Sir Francis Drake returns to England completing his circumnavigation of the World.LoC History.com
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| 28 | 1582 |
- 4 Oct 1582: The Gregorian calendar is introduced. The next day is October 15th.Britannica UFL
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| 29 | 1583 |
- 5 Aug 1583: The first English colony in North America is chartered at Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert but no settlement is made there until 1604.Fordham HF.uk
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| 30 | 1587 |
- 8 Feb 1587: Mary Queen of Scots is beheaded.Scotsman TheMet
- 22 Jul 1587: An English colony is established on Roanoke Island off what is now the North Carolina coast.HM NCHist
- 18 Aug 1587: Virginia Dare is the first English child born in the Americas.OB NCMoH
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| 31 | 1588 |
- 29 Jul 1588: The Spanish Armada is defeated.CBS-PC tNI
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| 32 | 1590 |
- 18 Aug 1590: Governor John White returns to Roanoke colony and finds it abandoned.NPS tLC
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| 33 | 1602 |
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| 34 | 1603 |
- 1603: Martin Pring surveys the Maine coast and names the Fox Islands.NH
- 15 Mar 1603: Samuel de Champlain sets sail from France aboard the Bonne-Renommée on his first voyage to North America. MM&P OHT
- 24 Mar 1603—27 Mar 1625: James I Ruler of England 1603-1625. House of Stuart: Son of Mary, Queen of Scots, granddaughter of James IV and Margaret. First to call himself King of Great Britain. This became official with the Act of Union, 1707.HistoricUK
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| 35 | 1604 |
- 26 Jun 1604: The French settle on Saint Croix Island in what is now Maine.tCE NPS
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| 36 | 1605/6 |
- 31 Jan 1605/6: Guy Fawkes is executed for plotting against Parliament and James I of England.PSU UKNA
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| 37 | 1605 |
- 5 Nov 1605: The Gunpowder Plot is foiled. Guy Fawkes is captured, tortured and executed.UKParliament
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| 38 | 1606 |
- 10 Apr 1606: A charter is granted to the Virginia Company for settlement in America.Avalon tGLIoAH
- 19 Dec 1606: Three vessels - Susan Constant, of 100 tons, Capt Christopher Newport; Godspeed, of forty tons, Capt Bartholomew Gosnold; and Discovery, twenty tons, Capt John Ratcliffe - with 105 emigrants sail from the Downs, England destined for Virginia in the New World.LR MM
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| 39 | 1607 |
- 1607: La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís, Santa Fe, New Mexico, is founded.HL PBS
- 13 May 1607: Three ships arrive with the first settlers of Virginia Colony.NPS LoA
- 14 May 1607: Jamestown is founded.LoC HJ
- 19 Aug 1607: Popham Colony is established in New England. It survives for only a year.CSM MFS
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| 40 | 1608 |
- 7 Jan 1608: A fire breaks out in Jamestown destroying nearly the entire settlement.Google Books EVa
- 3 Jul 1608: Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.CT OHT
- 2 Oct 1608: Hans Lippershey demonstrates, and applies for a patent for, the first refracting telescope, the forerunner of the modern optical telescope.W I R E D SciHi
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| 41 | 1609 |
- 25 Aug 1609: Galileo demonstrates the telescope.Astronomy SA
- 11 Sep 1609: Henry Hudson enters New York Bay in search of the Northwest Passage.IA NYSA
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| 42 | 1613 |
- 21 Feb 1613—15 Mar 1917: The Romanov Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty to rule Russia, begins when 16 year old Mikhail Romanov is elected as Czar.Russiapedia Hillwood
- 27 Mar 1613: The first English child is born in Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy.tCE MC
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| 43 | 1614 |
- 11 Oct 1614: Adriaen Block and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General of the Dutch Republic for exclusive trading rights in the Nieuw-Nederland colony.SCW ND-Coins
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| 44 | 1618 |
- 23 May 1618—24 Oct 1648: The Thirty Years War, a series of wars fought by European nations for various reasons, is initiated when the Holy Roman Emperor attempts to force Catholicism on most of Europe, and ends with the Peace of Westphalia.OSU CT
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| 45 | 1619 |
- 30 Jul 1619: The first elected legislative assembly in the New World convenes in Jamestown.USHistory NPS
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| 46 | 1620 |
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| 47 | 1620/1 |
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| 48 | 1621 |
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| 49 | 1622 |
- 22 Mar 1622: 347 of Jamestown's settlers are massacred by the Powhatans.BoRI MM
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| 50 | 1623/4 |
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| 51 | 1624 |
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| 52 | 1625 |
- 27 Mar 1625—30 Jan 1649: Charles I. Ruler of England 1625-1649. House of Stuart: Only surviving son of James I; beheaded Jan 30, 1649.HistoricUK
- 22 Apr 1625: The West India Company decrees the establishment of Fort Amsterdam and the creation of adjoining farms on the island of Manhates (Manhattan).GC HMdb
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| 53 | 1626 |
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| 54 | 1627 |
- 18 Jul 1627: A French missionary is the first European to mention the occurrence of petroleum in North America.GoogleBooks PA-Roots
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| 55 | 1628 |
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| 56 | 1630 |
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| 57 | 1630/1 |
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| 58 | 1631 |
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| 59 | 1632 |
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| 60 | 1633 |
- 13 Feb 1633: Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to face an ecclesiastical court on charges of committing heresy.W I R E D DJ
- 22 Jun 1633: Galileo Galilei is forced to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe.UKMC Fordham
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| 61 | 1634 |
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| 62 | 1635 |
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| 63 | 1636 |
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| 64 | 1637 |
- 1 May 1637: General Court is convened in Hartford and war is declared against the Pequots.SCW ICT
- 26 May 1637: Colonists attack and destroy the Pequot village at Misistuck (Mystic).ZEP ICT
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| 65 | 1638/39 |
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| 66 | 1638 |
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| 67 | 1639 |
- 25 Sep 1639: The first printing press in America is set up.BE AWD
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| 68 | 1642 |
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| 69 | 1643 |
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| 70 | 1647 |
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| 71 | 1648 |
- 15 Jun 1648: Margaret Jones, a midwife from Charlestown, is the first person to be executed for witchcraft in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.HoMA LoA
- 18 Oct 1648: The "Shoomakers of Boston" along with the coopers, form the first labor organization in America.jstor IA
- 24 Oct 1648: The Thirty Years War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia.LoC Avalon
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| 72 | 1649 |
- 30 Jan 1649—3 Sep 1658: Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector. Ruler of England 1649-1658. Commonwealth & Protectorate.HistoricUK
- 30 Jan 1649: Charles I is beheaded.HRP RMG
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| 73 | 1650 |
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| 74 | 1652 |
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| 75 | 1654 |
- 26 Jan 1654: Portugal decrees that Jewish and Dutch settlers have three months to leave Brazil. Many of the refugees go on to establish the first Jewish community in Nieuw-Amsterdam.LoC JVL
- 22 Aug 1654: The first Jews in North America arrive in Nieuw-Amsterdam.AJA Haaretz
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| 76 | 1656 |
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| 77 | 1658 |
- 1658: The first Jewish congregation is established in Newport, Rhode Island.Touro NPS
- 3 Sep 1658—25 May 1659: Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector. Ruler of England 1658-1659. Commonwealth & Proctorate: 3rd son of Oliver. Resigned May 25, 1659.HistoricUK
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| 78 | 1660 |
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| 79 | 1663 |
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| 80 | 1664 |
- 27 Aug 1664: Four English warships arrive in Nieuw-Amsterdam to claim the colony under the orders of James, Duke of York.13 WDL
- 31 Aug 1664: Peter Stuyvesant, governor of Nieuw-Nederland, refuses to accept the terms of surrender to the British.SotS
- 8 Sep 1664: The Dutch surrender Nieuw-Amsterdam to the British who change the name to New York.LoC NYC
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| 81 | 1665 |
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| 82 | 1666 |
- 2 Sep 1666—5 Sep 1666: The Great Fire of London breaks out in the house of King Charles II's baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge.DD Smith
- 14 Nov 1666: English diarist Samuel Pepys records the first description of a blood transfusion, dog-to-dog.W I R E D
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| 83 | 1673/4 |
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| 84 | 1673 |
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| 85 | 1674 |
- 19 Feb 1674: The signing of the Treaty of Westminster ends the Third Anglo-Dutch War.OUPLaw MW
- 10 Nov 1674: The Dutch cede New York City to the British for the final time with the end of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.GoogleBooks NYCourts
- 4 Dec 1674: Father Jacques Marquette sets up camp on the shores of Lake Michigan at what would later become the city of Chicago, Illinois.EC SNU
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| 86 | 1675 |
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| 87 | 1676 |
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| 88 | 1679 |
- 27 May 1679: The Habeas Corpus Act, which required a court to examine the lawfulness of a prisoner's detention and thus prevent unlawful or arbitrary imprisonment, was passed by Parliament.AS LI
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| 89 | 1681 |
- 4 Mar 1681: William Penn receives a charter for "New Wales", which became "Sylvania" and finally Pennsylvania.XPH HSP
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| 90 | 1682 |
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| 91 | 1683 |
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| 92 | 1684 |
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| 93 | 1685 |
- 6 Feb 1685—11 Dec 1689: James II. Ruler of England 1685-1689. House of Stuart (restored): 2nd son of Charles I. Deposed 1688, interregnum Dec 11, 1688, to Feb 13, 1689.HistoricUK
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| 94 | 1687 |
- 19 Mar 1687: French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle is murdered by mutinous settlers.AJ TXL&L
- 26 Oct 1687: Sir Edmund Andros, governor of New England, attempts to force the Connecticut Colony to surrender its charter, which is then hidden away in an oak tree, the Charter Oak.NEHS JSTOR
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| 95 | 1688/9 |
- 13 Feb 1688/9: After accepting the English Bill of Rights, William and Mary are proclaimed king and queen of England.UR NCC
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| 96 | 1689 |
- 18 Apr 1689: Bostonians revolt against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England.MAState NEHS
- 17 May 1689—30 Oct 1697: King William's War; England declares war on France which lasts until the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick.HoMA MB
- 4 Nov 1689—8 Mar 1702: William III and Mary II. Rulers of England 1689-1702. House of Stuart (restored): Son of William, Prince of Orange, by Mary, daughter of Charles I. Mary eldest daughter of James II. She died 1694.HistoricUK
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| 97 | 1690 |
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| 98 | 1691 |
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| 99 | 1692 |
- 20 Jan 1692: The Salem Witchcraft Hysteria begins.UMKC SWT
- 29 Feb 1692: The first witchcraft accusations take place and arrest warrants are issued for Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne.LoA WSU
- 2 Jun 1692: The Salem Witch Trials begin.UVA FT
- 7 Jun 1692: The pirate haven of Port Royal, Jamaica is destroyed in a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami, portions sinking beneath the sea.UNESCO B B C
- 10 Jun 1692: Bridget Bishop becomes the first of the accused Salem witches to be executed.Salem SWM
- 19 Jul 1692: Salem "witches", Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wildes are executed.SW PJ
- 22 Sep 1692: The last execution of the accused Salem witches is carried out.BostonMag LoA
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| 100 | 1693 |
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| 101 | 1697 |
- 20 Sep 1697: The Treaty of Ryswick settles the Nine Years War and ends hostilities in America, although that wouldn't happen for another two months.Jacobite theMet
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| 102 | 1698 |
- 2 Jul 1698: Englishman Thomas Savery patents a steam engine.APS MSH
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| 103 | 1700 |
- 26 Jan 1700: A magnitude 9.0 earthquake strikes off the west coast of North America producing a huge tsunami that sweeps across the Pacific.NRCan USGS
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| 104 | 1702 |
- 8 Mar 1702—1 Aug 1714: Anne. Ruler of England 1702-1714. House of Stuart (restored): 2nd daughter of James II. Died with no living heirs.HistoricUK
- 17 Apr 1702: The Provinces of West New Jersey and East New Jersey merge to form New Jersey.GoogleBooks THS
- 4 May 1702—11 Apr 1713: Queen Anne's War: English Colonies vs France 1702-1713.CB CWCT
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| 105 | 1704 |
|
| 106 | 1712 |
- 1712: Thomas Newcomen patents the atmospheric steam engine.JStor
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| 107 | 1713 |
- 11 Apr 1713: The Treaty of Utrecht is signed ending the War of the Spanish Succession, also known as Queen Anne's War in North America.CHNC CBC
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| 108 | 1714 |
- 1 Aug 1714—11 Jun 1727: George I. Ruler of England 1714-1727. House of Hanover: Son of Elector of Hanover, by Sophia, grand-daughter of James I. Proclaimed King under Act of Settlement.HistoricUK
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| 109 | 1715 |
- 23 Jul 1715: The General Court of Massachusetts passes the Boston Light Bill which authorizes the construction of a lighthouse in Boston Harbor.MassMoments MM&P
- 31 Jul 1715: A hurricane sinks a fleet of treasure ships returning to Spain.CW IRMag
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| 110 | 1716 |
|
| 111 | 1717 |
- 27 Feb 1717—7 Mar 1717: A series of four successive snowstorms create the Great Snow of 1717.NEHS NWS
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| 112 | 1718 |
|
| 113 | 1719 |
- 11 Dec 1719: The first recorded sighting of the aurora borealis in North America occurs in New England.DE tOFA
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| 114 | 1721 |
- 26 Jun 1721: During a smallpox outbreak in Boston, Dr. Zabdiel Boylston begins inoculating patients beginning with his own son.MassMoments CW
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| 115 | 1722 |
|
| 116 | 1727 |
- 11 Jun 1727—25 Oct 1760: George II. Ruler of England 1727-1760. House of Hanover: Only son of George I, married Caroline of Brandenburg.HistoricUK
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| 117 | 1729 |
|
| 118 | 1730 |
- 8 Apr 1730: The first synagogue in North America is the Mill Street Synagogue built by the Shearith Israel congregation in New York City.ShearithIsrael JWA
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| 119 | 1733 |
- 12 Feb 1733: James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony, and its first city at Savannah.GHS OU
- 17 May 1733: Britain passes the Molasses Act putting high tariffs on rum and molasses imported to the Colonies from anyplace other than Britain and its possessions.GoogleBooks JotAR
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| 120 | 1734 |
- 1 Apr 1734: The first lighthouse in Canada begins operation.LLS CCN
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| 121 | 1741 |
- 19 Dec 1741: Vitus Bering, a Danish explorer in service of Russia, dies after sighting Alaska.McGill MLP
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| 122 | 1744 |
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Abt 1494 -