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1492
Columbian Exchange
An exchange of people, products, and ideas between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.
Right after Columbus got to America. -
1492
1st Voyage Of Columbus
Columbus convinces Spain's King and Queen to finance his voyage west to find Asia. After 2 months at sea the crew was already talking about mutiny but miraculously they spot a place to land. -
1499
Amerigo Vespucci
He made two trips to the new land discovered by Columbus and was convinced that those lands were not Asia. German mapmaker named the land "the land of Amerigo", later shortened to "America". -
1515
Bartolome de Las Casas
He highlighted the mistreatment of Native Americans
He also convinced Spain to reform the Encomienda system which was land grants awarded to Spanish colonists by the government that included the right to demand labor or taxes from Native Americans -
1517
New Source Of Labor
4,000 African slaves were brought to the Caribbean islands in 1517. They had resistance to European diseases, and as a result, they had a lower death toll. By the middle of the 1500s, Spaniards were shipping about 2,000 enslaved Africans each year to Hispaniola alone. -
1519
Hernando Cortes Conquers the Aztecs
Went from Cuba to Mexico in search for riches. Took Aztec leader hostage and demanded ransom. Destroyed Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlan and claimed all of Mexico for Spain. -
1519
Ferdinand Magellan's Expedition
1st person to circumnavigate, or travel around the earth. He found a strait south of South America(Magellan Strait). He was killed in the Philippines. The 3-year trip finished when the 18 men surviving out of 250 men reached Spain. -
1531
Pizarro Conquers The Incas
Landed on the coast of Peru in 1531 to search for Incas, who were said to have much gold. He led 170 soldiers to the Inca empire. He captured the Inca leader, Atahualpa, and demanded ransom, later killed him anyway and also scared Inca with horses and cannons. -
Defeat Of The Spanish Armada
The Spanish fleet of warships known as the Armada was defeated. This was a turning point – a shift in the balance of world power. As a result, England and France started making their moves. -
Dutch Colony
Trade was so profitable in the new world that the Dutch West India Company created a permanent colony named New Netherland. The first colonists settled at Fort Orange (Albany). Another group settled at the mouth of Hudson River - New Amsterdam (New York City). New Netherland was an obstacle for English settlers moving west. In 1664, the English seized it and renamed it New York, after the king’s brother, Duke of York.
