Early Exploration of The New World

Europeans explore distant places

Jan 1, 1400

Early Exploration of The New World

Period: Jan 1, 1400 to Dec 31, 1663

Europeans explore distance places

Period: Jan 1, 1400 to Jan 1, 1499

Christopher Columbus is born

Oct 1, 1451

Columbus sails westward to what he thinks is China.

Jan 1, 1492

King Henry VII sends Cabot on a voyage to the West.

Jan 1, 1497

Vasco da Gama sails to India

Period: Jan 1, 1497 to Dec 31, 1498

Columbus reaches South America

Jan 1, 1498

Amerigo Vespucci names the new continent "America."

Jan 1, 1500

Columbian Exchange begins

Jan 1, 1500

Spain takes control of much of South and Central America and many Carribean islands

Jan 1, 1500

Christopher Columbus dies

Jan 1, 1506

Juan Ponce de Leon explores and settles the island of Puerto Rico

Period: Jan 1, 1508 to Dec 31, 1509

Ponce de Leon sets out with ships and crew

Jan 1, 1513

Ponce de Leon and his crew's expedition landed on the east coast of Florida, a name Ponce de Leon derived from the Spanish word for "flowers." The ships then sailed down the east Florida coast and then Florida Keys. They later crusied northward along the west coast of Florida for nearly 100 miles. Ponce de Leon's expedition showed that large tracts of land ripe for exploration lay to the north of the Caribbean islanda.

Spain is the most powerful nation in the world

Period: Jan 1, 1520 to Dec 31, 1529

King Francis I of France sends Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrano

Jan 1, 1524

Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon

Jan 1, 1526

Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon leads a group of over 500 men, women, and children to a river he called "Jordan"

Jul 1, 1526

Historians today believe that it was actually North Carolina's Cape Fear River that Ayllon led his group to.

150 of the 500 colonists return to Hispaniola

Oct 1, 1526

Ayllon took the colonists to a site that was in present day South Carolina, and the colony didn't have good situations there. Disease and starvation overwhelmed the settlers.

Hernando de Soto

Nov 16, 1539

The Spanish desired to know more about the interior of North Carolina, and as a result, Sodo sailed with a military expiditon from Havana, Cuba to the west coast of Florida. From there, his soldiers marched north to a site near (present day) Tallahassee, Florida.

Mission

Mar 23, 1556

Spaniard now look northwest, as they have a secure hold on Florida. They set out for Cheasapeake Bay from the West Indies to set up a Catholic Mission, but strong winds prevented them from there, so they entered an inlet in North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Spaniards

Nov 30, 1560

Spainiard officials saw a need to strengthen their hold on Floriday and they repsonded promptly and firmly to French threats. They tried very hard to convert Indians to Catholicism. With possession of Florida fairly secure and greater wealth to the south, Spaniards focursed their attention on the weath southwards post 1560's.

Huguenots

Apr 16, 1562

France sent a colony under the control of Jearn Ribault to North America. They were known as Huguenots, also known as French Protestants. Some of them sought religious freedom in the New World. In April 1562, Huguenots attempted to settle near present day Port Royal, South Carolina. They chose this location because they had a need to harbor their ships, repair them, and other certain needs that no other place fit better.

Pardo-Boyano Expedition

Nov 26, 1566

Shortly after the victory at Fort Caroline, Spanish officials organized an expedition to once again explore the interior country north of Florida. In late 1566, Juan Pardo and Hernando Boyano led a small group of men to the South Carolina coast.

St. Augustine

Sep 17, 1569

To the Spanish officials, the French Fort looked like a direct threat, so in 1569, Spain sent troops under Pedro Menendez de Aviles to Florida. Menendez built a fort to St. Augustine south of Fort Caroline. While this happened, Ribault prepared for attack but a storm wrecked his fleet.