Delaware Bay, but did not note the event. He then kept moving north up the present New Jersey coast, entered present New York harbor, then headed north to become the first European to see present Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine.

1603 England. James I (James VI of Scotland since 1566), became King of England, the first monarch to rule both England and Scotland. He was also the first English King to publicly assert that he was blessed with “the divine right of Kings,” meaning he was the voice of God on earth, at least in England and Scotland. Although James I was most remembered for commissioning a Bible translation, during his reign, the first permanent British colonies of North America were established in Virginia and New England.

1606. JamesI chartered two joint stock companies for the purpose of settlement in North America. The two companies, called the “Virginia Company of London” and the “Virginia Company of Plymouth” were granted territory from present North Carolina to Maine, with the Long Island Sound as the approximate dividing line.

1607 May. The first permanent English settlement of Jamestown was founded on the James River, a few miles from its mouth on Chesapeake Bay. Over the next few months, English Capt. John Smith (of Jamestown) explored much of Chesapeake Bay, and up the Atlantic coast as far north as present Maine.

1607. Englishman Henry Hudson sailed in search of a northwest passage to Asia. He sailed into present New York harbor and later lent his name to the river there.

1609. Henry Hudson,