On This Day
·

English colonists establish the 1st permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown. Unknown to them they have land

English colonists establish the 1st permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown. Unknown to them they have landed amidst the worst drought in 800 years.

The English overseas possessions, sometimes referred to as the English Empire, comprised a variety of overseas territories and colonies that were conquered or otherwise acquired by the Kingdom of England before 1707 when the Acts of Union joined England with the Kingdom of Scotland and created of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Formerly Scots were excluded from English overseas possessions, but following 1707 they could participate in the expanding British Empire.

The first English overseas settlements were established in Ireland and patterns of rule over a subordinated populated territory developed following the sixteenth-century Tudor conquest. There were initial English voyages of exploration during the reign of Henry VII of England, and further settlement in Ireland.

Events Before

  1. First known European landing in Australia by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon at the Pennefather River, Cape York, northe

    First known European landing in Australia by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon at the Pennefather River, Cape York, northern Australia

  2. Mughal prince Khusrav, son of Emperor Jahangir, begins a rebellion against his father, put down a few weeks later with t

    Mughal prince Khusrav, son of Emperor Jahangir, begins a rebellion against his father, put down a few weeks later with the prince blinded as punishment

  3. England adopts the Union Flag, replaced in 1801 by current Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack

    The Union Jack or Union Flag is the national flag of the United Kingdom. The flag consists of the red cross of Saint George (the patron saint of England), edged in white, superimposed on the red...

  4. Spanish Queirós Expedition are the first Europeans to discover Espíritu Santo, Vanuatu - although they think they have d

    Spanish Queirós Expedition are the first Europeans to discover Espíritu Santo, Vanuatu - although they think they have discovered Terra Australis (southern continent) [1]

  5. 2,000 foreigners murdered in Russia

    2,000 foreigners murdered in Russia

Events After

  1. English traveller Robert Shirley marries Iranian noblewoman Teresa Sampsonia at the Safavid royal court

    Teresa Sampsonia was a Circassian-English noblewoman of Safavid Iran. She was the wife of the Elizabethan English adventurer Robert Shirley, whom she accompanied on his travels and embassies across...

  2. Reynier van Oldenbarnevelt marries Anna Weytzen in Delft

    Reynier van Oldenbarnevelt marries Anna Weytzen in Delft

  3. Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia

    This is a timeline of events related to the establishment of Jamestown, which today is located the U.S. state of Virginia.

  4. Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia

    Susenyos I (Ge'ez: ሱስንዮስ Sūsinyōs; c. 1571–1575 – 17 September 1632), also known as Susenyos the Catholic, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1607 to 1632, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.

  5. Dutch trading ship arrives at the kingdom of Loango (modern Congo) to acquire ivory, their king requests audience with V

    Dutch trading ship arrives at the kingdom of Loango (modern Congo) to acquire ivory, their king requests audience with VOC official Pieter van den Broecke [1]

More from the 1600s

Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25

A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year.

First edition of "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha" (Part One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is pub

First edition of "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha" (Part One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid

English traveller Robert Shirley marries Iranian noblewoman Teresa Sampsonia at the Safavid royal court

Teresa Sampsonia was a Circassian-English noblewoman of Safavid Iran. She was the wife of the Elizabethan English adventurer Robert Shirley, whom she accompanied on his travels and embassies across...

A fleet of five British East India Company vessels departs on its first voyage from London, led by James Lancaster comma

A fleet of five British East India Company vessels departs on its first voyage from London, led by James Lancaster commanding the "Red Dragon"; the journey lasts nearly 16 months

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on May 14, 1607?
The English overseas possessions, sometimes referred to as the English Empire, comprised a variety of overseas territories and colonies that were conquered or otherwise acquired by the Kingdom of England before 1707 when the Acts of Union joined England with the Kingdom of Scotland and created of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Formerly Scots were excluded from English overseas possessions, but following 1707 they could participate in the expanding British Empire. The first English overseas settlements were established in Ireland and patterns of rule over a subordinated populated territory developed following the sixteenth-century Tudor conquest.
Why is English colonists establish the 1st permanent English settlement in America a... historically important?
The first English overseas settlements were established in Ireland and patterns of rule over a subordinated populated territory developed following the sixteenth-century Tudor conquest. There were initial English voyages of exploration during the reign of Henry VII of England, and further settlement in Ireland.

Explore More

May 14 in HistoryYear 1607