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Jan 1, 1492
Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue
In 1492 Christopher Columbus and his three ships; the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, set sail to find a route to Asia. Although, he did not know that there was a giant continent in the middle and instead landed in the East Indies. Essentially, he discovered the New World, which is what we now call North and South America, thus changing the world. -
Jan 1, 1511
First enslaved Africans arrive in the Americas
Europeans used Africans as slaves to mine for silver and gold. They chose Africans because they had built up an immunity to European diseases, and they do not know the land well (whereas the New World natives already know the land) and are less likely to flea. This trip was only the first of many from 1511 to 1600 and as many as 300,000 Africans will eventually be transported to the Americas. -
Jan 1, 1521
Cortez Conquers Aztec Empire
Hernando Cortez got what he wanted out of the Aztecs: gold. He had convinced the people of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan that he was a god. Cortez convinced their emperor, Montezuma II, to give him gold, but Montezuma would only comply to a certain amount and Cortez was unsatisfied. Cortez and his men ended up killing many warriors and eventually conquered the Aztecs because he had superior weaponry, better transportation, and was immune to European diseases. -
Jan 1, 1533
Pizarro Conquers Incan Empire
The Incans fell to Pizarro and his men mainly due to better communication. Pizarro only had 200 men whereas the Incans had about 300,000, but they still managed to kidnap Atahulpa, their leader. Atahulpa promised them a room filled with gold and twice with silver, he delivered on his promise, but the Spaniards still killed him. The Incans had to run in order to tell their people, if they were able to use a horse or something faster they probably would've been able to overpower the Spaniards. -
English found Jamestown
At first this colony was a catastrophe. During the first few years Jamestown was focused on making money and not on surviving. Most of the settlers died during those years of starvation, diseases, and fights with the natives. Eventually, the settlers pushed through and was actually successful with finding gold and surviving. It also brought tobacco to England. -
English found Plymouth
A group of people called the Pilgrims sought religious freedom and decided that they should find this in the New World. So England allowed them to travel to Virginia and set up a colony there. Although they were either blown off course or got scared and started to turn around, but they ended up in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Puritans came later and established a larger colony in Massachusetts Bay. -
French and Indian War ends
England and France's colonies were both doing okay so they started to expand...towards each other's land. Eventually a land dispute in the Ohio Valley sparked a larger conflict that led to the French and Indian War. France's colonies were spread out and didn't have that many people whereas England's colonies were more compact. In 1763 the British Army and British colonists defeated the French and took their land.
