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Jan 1, 1492
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic in search of an alternate trade route to Asia and its riches. Instead of reaching Asia, he landed on an island in the Caribbean. Columbus thought he had successfully reached the East Indies. Columbus claimed the island for Spain and named it San Salvador. -
Jan 1, 1511
First enslaved Africans arrive in the Americas
Between 1500 and 1600, nearly 300,000 Africans were transported to the Americas, called the Atlantic Slave Trade because they needed cheap labor. Europeans saw advantages in using Africans in the Americas such as having built up immunity, less likely to escape, and they had experience in farming. Africans labored throughout Spanish America on plantations and in gold and silver mines. -
Jan 1, 1521
Cortes conquers Aztec empire
Cortes and his force reached the aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. The Aztec emperor Montezume II was convinced that he was a god wearing armor so he acgreed to give him a share of the empire's existing gold supply. The Aztecs rebelled against the Spanish intruders and Cortes conquered the Aztecs. -
Jan 1, 1533
Pizarro conquers Incan empire
Pizarro and his army met the Incan ruler, Atahualpa, who had a force of 30,000. The Spaniards waited in ambush, crushed the Incan force, and kidnapped Atahualpa. Atahualpa offered to fill a room once with gold and twice with solver in exchange for his release, but the Spanish still strangled him. Pizarro marched on the Incan capital and captured it. -
English found Jamestown
A company of London investors recieved from King James a charter to found a colony in North America. They pushed out of an English harbor and reached the coast of Virginia. The colonists claimed the land as their and named the settlement Jamestown in honor of their king. -
English found Plymouth
A group called the Pilgrims founded a second English colony named Plymouth in Massachusetts. They were persecuted for their religious beliefs in England and they sought religious freedom. Ten years later the Puritans also sought religious freedom and they established a larger colony at nearby Massachusetts Bay. -
French and Indian War ends
The French and Indian War was between the British and the French on the North American continent. It became part of the Seven Years' War. The British colonists and British Army defeated the French. The French surrendured their North American holdings. The British seized control of the eastern half of North America.
