Pre 1590

• 1492, The Americas are “discovered” by Christopher Columbus, soon to exploit and commit genocide against the many Native Nations he encountered.
• 1521, This exploitation continued, eventually blossoming into the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, by Hernán Cortés.
• 1537, Inspired by Cortés’ successes in Mexico, Francisco Pizarro launched another Spanish conquest against the Incan capital of Cusco.
• 1568, After tensions rise between Protestant Netherlanders and their Catholic Spanish overlords, the Eighty Years’ War begins.
• 1585, The Eighty Years’ War envelops international tensions caused by the ongoing Protestant Reformation, thus pulling England into the conflict.
• 1588, The Spanish armada fails to depose Elizabeth I.

1590 

• 1590, the colonists of Roanoke have all disappeared, leading many to speculate their whereabouts.
• 1594, Sir Walter Raleigh rushes to “find” the city of El Dorado, then publishes a book (The Discovery of Guiana, 1596) that fuels the myth.
• 1595, After peaceful Anglo-Irish relations proved impossible, Tyrone’s Rebellion breaks out. Hugh O’Neill allies with other independent Irish provinces to stop English advancement on the island.

1600

• 1603, Elizabeth I, a Protestant queen, dies, succeeded by James I, a king with Catholic sympathies
• 1603, The last of O’Neill’s forces are defeated, Irish holdout kingdoms are subjugated, and the rebellion falls apart.
• 1606, the Virginia Company is granted its first charter by King James I. There are two components to this company: the Virginia Company of London and the Virginia Company of Plymouth. 
  • Some key players in the foundation of this company: John Smith, Sir Thomas Smythe, Richard Hakluyt, Sir Thomas Gates, and Sir George Sommers
• 1607, colony established at Jamestown. 
• 1609, the Virignia Company receives its second charter. Monetary resources were depleting, and so a treasurer was elected.

1610

• 1610, The First Anglo-Powhatan War begins due to colonial exploitation and English aggression.
• 1612, a third charter is created and it extends the range of what the Virginia Company has control over. These areas are Bermuda and the Summer Isles (named after George Somers).
• 1617, Raleigh embarks for Guiana a second time. After assaulting a Spanish outpost there, he is executed by James I in 1618.
• 1618, the fourth charter is established, the Great Charter. 
• 1619, the first enslaved Africans are brought to Virginia, specifically Point Comfort, onboard the White Lion and the Treasurer.

1620

• 1622, After Pocahontas dies, Anglo-Powhatan relations degrade further. In a push to kick the colonists out, Opechancanough, Powhatan’s successor, declares war on the colony, thereby beginning the Second Anglo-Powhatan War.
• 1624, the Virginia Company has its charter removed, and Virginia is absorbed into the Kingdom of England as a Royal Colony.
• 1625, James I dies, succeeded by Charles I.

1630

• 1635, With the Virginia colony well-established, the Second Anglo-Powhatan War ends with a six-mile barricade around Jamestown. This is quite indicative of how Anglo-Powhatan relations developed.