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Oct 12, 1492
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
Christopher Columbus, a Genoese (Italian) sea captain, made the brave trip from Spain westward to reach Asia, and instead found the West Indies (Caribbean). -
Oct 9, 1511
First enslaved Africans arrive in the Americas
Originally, the natives were used for labor during the colonization of the New World, but after many of them died, the Europeans turned to African slaves which would be used to the hard work, immune to many of the European diseases, and less likely to escape. -
Oct 9, 1521
Cortés conquers Aztec Empire
Cortés, a Spanish conquistador, had ”"a disease of the heart that only god can cure" and wasn't satisfied with all of the gold that the Aztec people gave him. Eventually, tensions escalated and Cortes and his men defeated Montezuma II and his men. -
Oct 9, 1533
Pizarro conquers Incan Empire
Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, kidnapped Atahualpa, the Incan king. The Incans offered to fill a room once with gold and twice with silver for the release of their leader, but after acquiring the wealth, the Europeans strangled Atahualpa and defeated the Incans. -
English found Jamestown
Jamestown, the first permanent European settlement in North America, was created after some London investors received a charter from King James to create a colony. The settlers reached the coast of Virginia and claimed the land and the colony flourished due to tobacco. -
English found Plymouth
A group of English settlers escape to the New World from religious persecution in England. They were supposed to go to Jamestown but their ship went off course and the settlers ended up at Plymouth Rock. -
French and Indian War ends
The Spanish and Portuguese avoided war because of the Treaty of Tordesillas, but war was inevitable between the English and the French, and tensions were rising regarding borders and land.
The French and Native Americans teamed up together to fight against English for land, and the English won and gained a large amount of French land.
More indians on the French side