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Oct 21, 1492
Columbus encountered the New World for the first time
Columbus encountered the new world is 1492. and incorrectly named the people he found "indians". -
Jun 9, 1534
Jacque Cartier sailed the St. Lawrence
When French navigator Jacques Cartier left France by boat in April 1534, the king ordered him to find gold, spices (which were valuable at that time), and a water passage from France to Asia. -
May 21, 1542
Hernando de Soto’s expedition of the Southeast
was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States and the first documented European to have crossed the Mississippi River. -
Sep 10, 1550
Juan de Onate founded Santa Fe
was a Spanish Conquistador, explorer, and colonial governor of the Santa Fe de Nuevo México province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. He led early Spanish expeditions to the Great Plains and Lower Colorado River Valley, encountering numerous indigenous tribes in their homelands there. -
Sep 1, 1554
Coronado's expedition from Mexico to Kansas
was a Spanish conquistador and explorer, who led a large expedition from Mexico to present-day Kansas through parts of the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542. Coronado had hoped to reach the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. -
Sep 8, 1565
Spanish establish St. Augustine, Florida
On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed on the shore of what is now called Matanzas Bay and began the founding of the Presidio of San Agustin. Later the settlement would be called St. Augustine, Florida. -
Attempted Roanoke Colony
an expedition led by Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe landed on Roanoke Island. Tasked by Raleigh with exploring the Eastern coast, they established a rudimentary settlement and made contact with the local Secotan and Croatan tribes. -
John Rolfe introduced tobacco to Virginia
John Rolfe was the son of John Rolfe and Dorothea Mason. He was born in Norfolk, England and baptized on May 6, 1585. Little is known of John Rolfe's early life in England. -
Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec
Champlain sailed to Canada and explored the St. Lawrence River for the king. He also explored and wrote about Niagara Falls. Many hotels and motels sprang up around Niagara Falls as young French newlyweds chose to travel there for their honeymoons after reading Samuel’s account of the majestic Falls. -
Beaver Wars
were terrifying and brutal wars fought by tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy against the French and the Indian tribes who were their allies, including the Huron and Algonquins. The Iroquois Confederacy, and in particular the Mohawk tribe, had established trading links with Dutch exchanging beaver pelts for guns. -
Jamestown, Virginia founded
English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
First African slaves arrived in Virginia
It is late summer. Out of a violent storm appears a Dutch ship. The ship's cargo hold is empty except for twenty or so Africans whom the captain and his crew have recently robbed from a Spanish ship. -
Plymouth, Massachusetts founded
Plymouth is where New England was first established. It is the oldest municipality in New England and one of the oldest in the United States. -
South Carolina colony founded
The South Carolina Colony was one of the original 13 colonies located on the Atlantic coast of North America. The original 13 colonies were divided into three geographic areas consisting of the New England, Middle and Southern colonies. -
Marquette and Joliet sailed down the Mississippi
Father Jacques Marquette and fur trader Louis Joliet were sent by Governor Frontenac of New France (now Canada) to look for a route to the Pacific Ocean. -
The Pueblo Revolt
was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, present day New Mexico.[ -
Pennsylvania Colony founded
The Pennsylvania Colony was one of the original 13 colonies located on the Atlantic coast of North America. The original 13 colonies were divided into three geographic areas consisting of the New England, Middle and Southern colonies. -
French began fur trade with Indians
In the early 17th century, French traders began to use Huron (or Wyandot) middlemen to trade with the Native peoples in the Great Lakes region. -
Georgia Colony founded
After years of planning and two months crossing the Atlantic, James Oglethorpe and 114 colonists climbed 40 feet up the bluff from the Savannah River on this day in 1733 and founded the colony of Georgia.