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| | | 1524 | Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano ( 1485 - 1528 ) arriving at Cape Fear, explores the Carolina coast for France | |
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| | | 1540 | Spanish explorer, Spanish Hernando de Soto (1500-1542) explores the area in search of gold | |
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| | | 1584 | March 25 Queen Elizabeth I of England granted a charter to Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618) to search and discover 'remote and heathen lands' | |
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| | | 1584 | April 27 Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe reach Roanoke Island in July, authorised by Sir Walter Raleigh, claim the land and return to England in September | |
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| | | 1585 | Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618) led expeditions to both North America and South America in order to found new settlements and find gold. Raleigh sends several shiploads of colonists to the east coast of North America | |
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| | | 1585 | Raleigh's fleet of seven vessels under Sir Richard Grenville (1541 - 1591) reach Roanoke Island in June | |
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| | | 1586 | The colonists on Roanoke Island are forced to return to England due to hardships | |
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| | | 1587 | John White ( 1540 - 1606 ) with 150 men, women, and children sent by Sir Walter Raleigh and found the City of Raleigh & establishes a second English colony at Roanoke and becomes Governor | |
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| | | 1587 | August 18 - Elinor White Dare gave birth to a daughter, Virginia Dare, the first child born of English parents in the New World | |
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| | | 1587 | August 22 - John White returns to England for more supplies leaving the thriving colony. Seven assistants are left in charge with strict instructions that if the colonists should decide to leave the fort, they would carve their destination on a tree and add a Maltese cross if they had to leave because of attack | |
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| | | 1590 | August 15 John White arrives back to Roanoke to find that the settlers have all disappeared. The word "CROATOAN" is found carved into a tree without any crosses or signs of distress. The fate of "The Lost Colony" remains a mystery | |
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| | | 1602 | Sir Walter Raleigh sends Samuel Mace of Weymouth on a voyage to Virginia (North Carolina) to explore and search for survivors of the Lost Colony | |
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| | | 1606 | 10 April English investors form the London Virginia Company are backed by a royal charter to finance permanent English settlements in the New World | |
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| | | 1609 | Henry Hudson (1565-1611) English and navigator explores the area | |
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| | | 1653 | Nathaniel Batts ( 1620-1679 ) becomes the earliest permanent settler in North Carolina | |
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| | | 1691 | The area assumed the name of North Carolina | |
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| | | 1710 | Germans and Swiss establish a settlement on the Neuse River | |
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| | | 1711 | 1711-1713: The Tuscarora War between the Tuscarora Native Americans and European settlers. The Tuscarora are defeated | |
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| | | 1712 | North Carolina becomes a separate Colony | |
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| | | 1715 | The Yamasee War - An Indian confederation led by the Yamasee came close to exterminating the white settlements in their area | |
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| | | 1729 | North Carolina becomes a royal English colony | |
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| | | 1756 | 1756 - 1763: The Seven Years War (French and Indian War) due to disputes over land is won by Great Britain. France gives England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba. | |
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| | | | For additional facts and information about Colonial America refer to the North Carolina Colony | |
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| | | 1775 | 1775 - 1783 - The American Revolution creates the United States of America. The Revolution was due to the British burden of taxes and total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies. George Washington led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War (American War of Independence) | |
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| | | 1776 | July 4, 1776 - United States Declaration of Independence | |
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| | | 1778 | July 10, 1778 - France declares war against Britain and makes an alliance with the American revolutionary forces | |
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| | | 1783 | September 3, 1783 - The Treaty of Paris is signed by the victorious United States and the defeated Great Britain | |
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| | | 1789 | Statehood - The Date that North Carolina was admitted to the Union - November 21, 1789. Constitution - North Carolina was the 12th State to be admitted to the Union. State Motto - " Esse quam videri " the State Motto is translated as " To be, rather than to seem " | |
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| | | 1803 | The Louisiana Purchase - In 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France. The U.S. Secretary of State, James Madison paid 15 million dollars for the land | |
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| | | 1812 | 1812 - 1815: The War of 1812 between U.S. and Great Britain, ended in a stalemate but confirmed America's Independence | |
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| | | 1859 | John Brown raided Harpers Ferry and set in motion events that led directly to the outbreak of the Civil War. | |
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| | | 1861 | 1861 - 1865: The American Civil War. outbreak of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president and in 1861 the South Secedes. The initial Secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. | |
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| | | 1865 | The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signalled the end of the Confederacy | |
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| | | 1865 | 1865 December 6 - The Abolishment of Slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, thus officially abolishing slavery | |
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| | | 1865 | The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signalled the end of the Confederacy | |
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| | | 1866 | Tuscarora Indian Henry Berry Lowrie leads a revolt in Robeson County | |
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| | | 1878 | A Cherokee reservation is established in Western North Carolina | |
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| | | 1898 | 1898-1901: The Spanish American War. On December 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris the US annexes Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines. | |
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