1607 – English found Jamestown Colony.
1609 – Spanish found Santa Fe.
1613 – A Dutch trading post is set up on lower Manhattan Island.
1619 – Dutch deliver first slaves to Virginia.
1620 – November 9, the Mayflower ship lands at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with 101 colonists. On November 11, the Mayflower Compact is signed by the 41 men, establishing a form of local government in which the colonists agree to abide by majority rule and to cooperate for the general good of the colony. The Compact sets the precedent for other colonies as they set up governments.
