From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America
Timeline 1492-1695

1492-1695 | 1700s | 1800s | 1900s | 2000s

Year	World Events	American Jewish Events	American Events
1492	Columbus embarks on the first of his voyages of discovery Jews are expelled from Spain
1607			Jamestown, Virginia is colonized
1619			Twenty Africans are shipped to Jamestown on Dutch ships
1620			Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth Rock (Massachusetts) on the Mayflower
1630	Dutch capture Pernambuco, Brazil, from the Portuguese and permit Jewish settlement Jews settle in Recife, Brazil
1636			Roger Williams founds Rhode Island, a colony based on the principle of freedom of worship
1648	Chmielnicki uprising in Ukraine against Polish landowners, the Catholic clergy, and the Jews, results in the destruction of hundreds of Jewish communities and the murder of tens of thousands of Jews
1654	Portuguese recapture Brazil from Dutch, forcing Jews to flee	Boat with twenty-three Jews, mostly refugees from Recife, Brazil, arrives in New Amsterdam (New York), marking the beginning of Jewish communal settlement in North America
1655		Jews in New Netherlands are granted rights to trade, travel, and stand guard
1656		Jews in New Netherlands are granted rights to own property and to establish a Jewish cemetery
1660			Virginia legalizes slavery
1678		Newport Jews purchase cemetery
1681			William Penn founds Pennsylvania, a colony based on a tradition of religious toleration and freedom under law
1692			Witchcraft hysteria breaks out in Salem, Massachusetts
1695	First known Jew settles in Charleston, South Carolina