The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620.
February 4 – Prince Bethlen Gabor signs a peace treaty with Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. May 17 – The first merry-go-round is seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey). June 3 – The oldest stone church in French North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, is begun at Quebec City, Canada.