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Jan 1, 600
Mayan Civilization
Start of the Mayan Civilization. They lived in present day Mexico. -
Jan 1, 1000
Leif Ericson and Vikings Reach North America
Leif Ericson and the Vikings are believed to be the first Europeans to reach North America. Leif was the son of Eric the Red, who started the first European settlement in Greenland in 985. -
Jan 1, 1095
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars. The main goal, was to restore Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem. -
Jan 1, 1275
Marco Polo Reaches China
In 1266, Polo's father and he reached the seat of the Kublai Khan at Dadu, which is present day Beijing, China. Khan requested that a mission bring him back oil of the lamp in Jerusalem. -
Jan 1, 1300
Rennaissance
It was a cultural movement that began in Italy in the late Middle Ages and spread all the way through Europe. It involved the flowering of literature, science, art, religion, and politics, and a resurgence of learning based on classical sources. -
Jan 1, 1360
Aztec Civilization
These were people of certain ethnic groups of central Mexico. They dominated large parts of Mesoamerica, which is present day Mexico and South. -
Jan 1, 1490
Inca Civilization
The largest civilization in pre-Columbian America. Most of the Incas worshipped Inti-the sun god. -
Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus Discovers America
When he left Spain, his goal was to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies). The wind took his ships west, but his first land fall was just southeast of present day Florida. -
Jun 7, 1494
Line of Demarcation
This line was about half way between the Cape Verde Islands and the islands discovered by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage. All the lands to the east belonged to Portugal, and the lands to the west would belong to Spain. -
Aug 28, 1565
St. Augustine-First Permanent Spanish Settlement
The Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sighted land. He named it after Augustine of Hippo whos feast day is celebrated on August 28. -
Period: to
Colonial America
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Quebec Founded
French explorer Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec. He claimed the area for France and built it as a permanent fur trading post. -
House of Burgesses Established in Virginia
It was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. Also, in 1619, the Virginia Company sent 90 single women as potential wives for the male colonists to help populate the settlement. That same year the colony acquired a group of Angolans, bought by two English privateers. Theses Africans were some of the first indentured servants in the colonies. -
Mayflower Compact
This compact was the first governing document in the Plymouth Colony. This document was written by the Pilgrims when they crossed the Atlantic in their ship, the Mayflower. -
Harvard College Founded
It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is known as Harvard University today. -
Act of Toleration Passed in Maryland
This was a law that mandated religious tolerance for Trinitarian Christians. It was the second law requiring religious tolerance in the British North American colonies. -
Bacon's Rebellion
It was led by a 29-year-old planter named Nathaniel Bacon. When Virginia Governor William Berkeley refused to retaliate for a series of Indian attacks on frontier settlements, others took matters into their own hands and started attacking Indians, chasing Berkeley from Jamestown, Virginia, and torching the capital.
