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Period: Jan 1, 1100 to Jan 1, 1300
Crusades
Christian Crusades arouse European interest in the East as the Crusaders begin to arrive back home in the West with elegant silks, spices and other items they obtained while fighting in the East. -
Jan 1, 1295
Marco Polo Returns to Europe
Marco Polo, an Italian Explorer, returns to Europe after spending nearly twenty-years living in China and observing and documenting their society. -
Jan 3, 1492
Spain Unifies
The Spanish reconquer the Iberian Peninsula and unify Spain. -
Oct 12, 1492
Columbus Lands
Columbus and his men land in present day Bahamas and claim the New World for Spain. -
Jun 7, 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
The first of many treaties between Spain and Portugal is reached dividing the New World into respective regions for each country. -
Period: Jan 1, 1497 to Dec 31, 1498
Cabot Explores North America
John Cabot and his associates explore the coastline of North America, most notably the New Foudnland, for England, -
May 20, 1498
Da Gama lands in India
Vasco Da Gama reaches India by sailing around Africa and into the Indian Ocean. -
Apr 2, 1513
Ponce de Leon
Juan Ponce de Leon discovers what he thinks is another island and names it Florida. He returns in 1521 for further exploration. -
Sep 25, 1513
Balboa and the Pacific
Bilbao crosses the isthmus of Panama and "discovers" and claims all lands touching the Pacific Ocean for Spain, -
Period: Feb 1, 1519 to Aug 13, 1521
Cortes conquers Mexico
Cortes conquers the Aztec Empire in Mexico and claims it for Spain, -
Period: Aug 10, 1519 to Sep 6, 1522
Magellan's Exploration and circumnavigation of the World
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Apr 27, 1521
Magellan's Death
Magellan dies in the Philipines during his attempt to circumnavigate the world. -
Aug 13, 1521
Cortes conquers Tenochtitlán
Cortes captures the Azetec ruler Cuauhtémoc which leads to the conquering of his city, which later becomes Mexico City. -
Nov 16, 1532
Pizarro crushes Incas
Pizarro defeats the Incas at the Battle of Battle of Cajamarca, further strenghthening Spanish rule in Peru and South America. -
Period: May 1, 1539 to May 21, 1542
De Soto Exploration
De Soto explores the Southeast and discovers the Mississippi River. -
Period: Feb 23, 1540 to Apr 1, 1542
Coronado Exploration
Coronado explores the present day Southwest. -
May 21, 1542
De Sote Death
De Soto dies of fever during his exploration of the Southeast. -
Sep 28, 1542
Cabrillo Explores San Diego Bay
This was the beginning of Cabrillos exploration north along the coast of present day California. He claimed it all for Spain. -
Aug 28, 1565
Establishment of St. Augustine
The Spanish build a fotress at the site called St. Augustine, which today is the oldest settlement in the United States. -
Pope's Rebellion
A native uprising in New Mexico where the local Pueblos attacked and destroyed every Catholic church in the province and killed many priests and Spanish settlers.
