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Period: 1400 to
Early Colonization of the Americas
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Oct 11, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
Christopher Columbus made miscalculations and discovered what would later be called America. He was looking for land and gold. -
Jan 1, 1512
Spanish take the first African slaves to Hispaniola.
This began the use of Africans as slaves in the Americas. -
Nov 8, 1519
Cortez arrives in Tenochtitlan
Cortez attacks the Aztecs to get their gold. -
Aug 13, 1521
Cortes defeats the Aztecs
Cortes defeated the Aztecs, and they became slaves. Then after the war Tenochtitlan became Mexico. -
Jan 1, 1527
Bartoleme de Las Casas argues against the enslavement of Native Americans
He wanted the Native Americans to become free people. -
Jan 15, 1535
Pizarro founds a new capital in Lima, Peru after defeating the Incas
The Incas lost their land, because the Spanish wanted their land and gold. They created more colonies. -
John White returns to Roanoke settlement to find the colony had disappeared
The people did not have the skills to survive on their own. They did not know how to build shelter or grow food. -
The English found Jamestown
Jamestown was built on swamp land, and the English got sick. They couldn't drink the water and didn't have food. They learned how to grow tobacco and got organized and the colony thrived. -
Champlain founds Quebec
Champlain was looking for the Northwest passage. Quebec became part of the colony of New France. -
House of Burgesses formed
The first law-making assembly in the English colonies was the Virginia House of Burgesses. -
Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth
The pilgrims arrived at Plymouth in December. They did not know how to grow food, so many of them died. The Wampanoag people helped them, and that began the Thanksgiving celebration. -
Mathias de Sousa, an indentured servant of African descent arrives in Maryland
He was a free man, and he was the first African American man to sit in a legislative assembly. -
William Penn established Pennsylvania
He built a colony based on Quaker beliefs. -
Georgia, the 13th English colony, is founded
Debtors from English jails established the colony, Georgia.
