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Christopher Columbus sets sail in the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. On October 12, 1492 he reached present day Cuba which is in the Caribbean Sea. He thought he was in the Indies.
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In 1498 John Cabot, a famous Italian explorer, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, and explored the region around Newfoundland. His boat ended up disappearing and was never found.
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Vasco Nunez de Balboa explored the Caribbean Coast called Panama, he was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean.
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Juan Ponce de Leon was the first European to set foot in Florida.
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Ferdinand Magellan set out to find the Atlantic - Pacific passage, he was then the first person to circumnavigate the world. He then sadly died while exploring the Philipines.
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Herando Cortes sailed to Cuba and later sailed from Cuba to Mexico in search of gold, and then took over the civilization of the Aztecs after being drove out in the first place.
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In 1539, de Soto sailed to North America and explored the Southeastern region. He later was killed by Native Americans.
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Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England.
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Juan de Onate led an exploration into New Mexico. He aimed to find gold, convert Native Amaericans to Christianlity, and establish a permanant settlement. He never found gold but established Spain's first permanant settlement. The settlement was called Santa Fe.
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Henry Hudson made his four voyage.
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In 1608 Samuel de Champlain established a settlement in the St. Lawerence River Valley right by the St. Lawerence River.
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Dutch Company established Permanant colony and called it New Netherlands.
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In 1619 the House of Burgesses was established. The House of Burgesses was Virginia's law making body. Virginia had a representative government. A representative government is the form of government in which voters elect people to make laws for them.
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The House of Burgesses became the first legislature in British North America. Massachusetts colonlists also set up a legislature called General Court in 1629.
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In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company was established.
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Massachusetts required large towns to have public schools.
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In 1649 Lord Baltimore helped pass the Act of Toleration which was to help the Catholics
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King Charles II granted a charter to establish a colony which was called Carolina.
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In 1663, in Gloucester, Virginia the first serious revolt took place. This revolt led to other revolts.
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Jacques Marquette founded two missions along the Great Lakes.
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Nathaniel Bacon became the leader of the frontier settlers. In 1675 he organized a force of 1,000 westerners and began attacking and killing Native Americans. The men were then known as rebels.
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In 1689, King William and Queen Mary signed the English Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a written list of freedoms that a government promises of protect.
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A notable court case in 1735 helped establish another important right we still have today, "Freedom of the Press." It was the right of journalists to publish the truth without restriction or penalty.
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Junipero Serra's first mission was just north of today's border of Mexican-American border, evantually it became the city of San Diego. He later founded other cities around such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.
