NATIVE AMERICANS
A few thousand years ago: Early ancestors of Native American tribes come to the Connecticut coast. Native Americans rely on the Sound for fish and shellfish.
1600s:
About 5,000 people from thirteen tribes live on Long Island when the first settlers come. Wampum, made from sea shells, is used by Native Americans as money.
ENGLISH & DUTCH SETTLERS
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1614:
Dutch explorer, Adriaen Block, sails through Hell Gate and discovers Long Island Sound. (Block Island is named after him.)
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1620:
Southhold settlement is established on the North Shore of Long Island.
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1623:
Wading River settlement is estab-lished on the North Shore of Long Island
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1632:
Representatives of Dutch West India Company purchase Old Saybrook from
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Native Americans. Jacob Van Curler buys Hartford. The English begin purchasing land and settling in Connecticut and Long Island.
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1633:
Windsor, the first English settlement in Connecticut is established.
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(1633-1658):
Coastline towns are pur-chased: Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Stratford, New Haven, Branford, Guilford, Norwich and New London.
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1636-1637:
Pequot War: Pequot village near Mystic River in Connecticut is raided.
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1653:
Cold Spring Harbor is established on the North Shore of Long Island.
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1655:
Port Jefferson is established on the North Shore of Long Island.
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1676:
War between settlers and Native Americans in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Many die on both sides. Settlers win. Many Indians die of smallpox.
MARITIME DEVELOPMENT
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early 1700s:
Native Americans are gone from the eastern seaboard. Trade routes between Connecticut and the West Indies become a money-making source. Oystering is regulated by Connecticut laws.
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1754-1763:
French and Indian War affects seafaring business.
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1776-1783:
Revolutionary War also affects seafaring business. British occupy Long Island, but not Connecticut coastline towns. Privateers (privately owned armed ships) sail into Connecticut ports and capture almost 500 British ships. Connecticut becomes a leader in making firearms and gunpowder.
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after the Revolution:
West Indian trade drops off. New York and other ports com-pete for business. People develop new and useful products to sell. Coastline factory villages are established.
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1790s:
Commercial fishing for shad and salmon are threatened by manmade dams built along the Connecticut River. Fish cannot get up the river to spawn.
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1798:
American factory system starts in New Haven, Connecticut. Eli Whitney fills an order for 10,000 muskets for the federal government.
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19th century:
The steam engine is invented, making steamships and railroads possible.
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mid-1800s:
Shipbuilding is a profitable business, especially because of the whaling boom. Oyster cultivation begins.
