| 1623 | Roger Conant leaves England for the New World. He arrives at Plymouth and lives, for a while, on Cape Ann near present day Gloucester |
| 1626 | Canaanite finally settles in Naumkeag, later renamed Salem. Early settlers rely on fishing and subsistence farming. Shipbuilding gradually becomes an important industry. |
| Mid-1600's | Trade with the West Indies develops. Lumber and dried fish are traded for molasses and sugar which are turned into rum. |
| 1660 & 1663 | 1660 & 1663 Navigation Acts give Americans a virtual monopoly of shipping between the mainland colonies and the West Indies. Salem prospers with this trade. |
| 1689 663 | Reverend Samuel Parris is hired to be Minister in Salem Village. He brings with him Tituba, a slave from the West Indies. |
| 1692 | Witchcraft Hysteria begins in Salem Village (today, most of the town of Danvers and part of the city of Peabody) |
| 1693 | Governor Sir William Phipps releases most of those
still being held for witchcraft |
| 1733 | Molasses Act places heavy taxes on sugar and molasses imported from non-British lands. This has a negative effect on Salem's trade with the West Indies. |
| 1776 | American Revolution begins. Salem's trade suffers during the revolution, but many merchants use their ships as privateers |
| 1784 | Elias Hasket Derby's Grand Turk opens China for
trade with Salem. |
| 1780's to early 1800's | Trade with China, India, and the
Spice Islands flourishes. Salem is the center of world commerce. |
| 1806 | Salem reaches its peak as a major world trading port |
| 1807 | President Jefferson's Embargo Act declares that no
ship can sail from a U.S. harbor to a foreign port. Embargo
cripples Salem's economy. |
| 1809 | Embargo is lifted and ships from Salem resume trade
with the East . |
| 1812 | War of 1812. Many Salem ships do not survive the
conflict, and Salem never regains its commercial power. |
