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1442
Columbus lands at Hispaniola in the Caribbean.
Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Caribbean in 1492 marked the beginning of contact between Europeans and Native Americans. Soon, explorers, fishermen, and traders began making contact from Canada down through South America. -
1513
Balboa "discovers" the Pacific Ocean in Panama
Vasco Núñez de Balboa was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World. -
1521
Cortes Conquers the Aztecs at Tenochtitlan.
After a three-month siege, Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés capture Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec empire. Cortés’ men leveled the city and captured Cuauhtemoc, the Aztec emperor. -
1539
De Soto explores the region between Florida and the Mississippi River.
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States. He is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River. -
First Permanent English settlement is founded in Jamestown, Virginia.
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607, and was considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610. -
Mayflower Pilgrims found Plymouth colony in Massachusetts.
Plymouth Colony First colonial settlement in New England. The settlers were a group of about 100 Puritan Separatist Pilgrims, who sailed on the Mayflower and settled on what is now Cape Cod bay, Massachusetts. They named the first town after their port of departure. -
English settlers defeat Native Americans in King Philip's War.
King Philip's War marked the last major effort by the Native Americans of southern New England to drive out the English settlers. King Philip — led a bloody uprising of Wampanoag, Nipmuck, Pocumtuck and Narragansett tribes. -
France claims the Mississippi River Valley and names it Louisiana.
Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle and a larger party of explorers followed much the same route as Marquette and Jolliet. But La Salle's journey brought him all the way to the Gulf of Mexico; where he claimed the Mississippi River Valley for his King and named it in his honor, Louisiana.
