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Sep 1, 1492
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
Italian Christopher Columbus set sail with three ships, the Santa Maria, Pinta, and Nina, looking for a new route to Asia for the Spanish. Instead of going around the tip of Africa, he decided to sail west. Columbus, thinking it was Asia, landed in North America on an island callled San Salvador in the Bahamas. -
Sep 1, 1511
First enslaved Africans arrive in the Americas
Because of the heavy fatality rates among the Native Americans due to disease, the Europeans decided to import enslaved Africans to the New World to perform many kinds of labor including growing and harvesting crops like sugarcane and tobacco. This started a huge increase in the desire for slaves, which led to the creation of the Atlantic Slave Trade. This lasted for about three centuries, and in this time millions of Africans were taken from their homes and families and sent to the New World. -
Sep 1, 1521
Cortes conquers Aztec Empire
Hernan Cortes, a Spaniard, landed on the shores of Mexico in 1519. Soon after, he heard of the massive empire of the Aztecs. Cortes and his 600 men marched to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. The king, Montezuma, thought Cortes was a god so he gave him lots of gold. However Cortes' men got in a brawl with the Aztecs a year later, starting a war that Cortes won. He was able to do so with superior weaponry and most importantly, from diseases that the Aztecs were not immune to, like smallpox. -
Sep 1, 1533
Pizarro conquers Incan Empire
In 1532, a group of about 200 Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro marched into Peru and faced an Incan army of a few thousand men. However, the Spanish easily crushed the Incans because they had superior weapons in guns. Pizarro captured the Incan king, Atuhulpa, and although Atahulpa met the ransom of giving the Spanish a room full of gold, the Incan king was hung anyway. After this, the Spanish easily conquered the rest of the Incan empire. -
Eniglish found Jamestown
Seeing how rich the Spanish had become from its colonies in the New World, England wanted to establish its own. in 1606 the trio of boats set sail with about 100 passengers, and in 1607, they reached the coast of Virginia. The beginning was awful with about 70% of the inhabitants dying. This was because they were more interested in finding gold than planting crops. Eventually the colony improved and the discovery of tobacco turned the failing colony into a highly profitable one. -
English found Plymouth
Due to being persecuted for their religious beliefs, a group known as the Pilgrims sought to find religious freedom in the New World. Although it was intended for them to land in Virginia, the Pilgrims found themselves in Massachusetts. Although the colony had a few troubles at first, it eventually became a huge success. -
French and Indian War ends
The French and Indian War was fought between the English and the French and Indians. The war was started when there was a land dispute in the Ohio Valley between the English and French colonists. This conflict was part of a larger war which was called the Seven Year's War. The British won in the end, and this forced the French to forfeit all of their colonies in North America, giving the British the eastern half of America.
