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Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus Sets Sail
Christopher Columbus set sail from a Spanish port with his three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. His plan was to sail west until he reached Asia to get riches. -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus Discovers the New World
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus discovered the new world on October 12, 1492 with his three ships. -
Jan 1, 1519
Hernan Cortes Conquers the Aztecs
Heran Cortez heard about the Aztecs and knew they were a primary force in Mexico, so he wanted to be the ruler of them. He made an ally and went into the city to conquer it. The ally sacked the city while Cortes took the leader hostage and ruled the city through him. -
Jan 1, 1552
Bartolome de Las Casas Criticizes the Spanish
Bartolome de Las Casas wrote and published Brevíssma Relación de la Destruición de las Indias which is perhaps the most widely known and read pieces of his work. -
Founding of Jamestown
Settlers created Jamestown on May 14, 1607 about 60 miles away from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. They created a fort in the shape of a triangle to protect themselves from the Indians and attacks. Inside the fort was a church, a storehouse and houses. -
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King Philip's War
This war was the last effort made by the Native Americans to try and drive the English settlers out of southern New England. It was led by Metacom, a chief called King Philip in English. The bloody war lasted for 14 months and destroyed 12 frontier towns. It ended after Metacom was catured and beheaded. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was the first uprising against the colonial government. The uprising was against both the colonial government and the Native Americans. -
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The French and Indian War
Also called the Seven Years' War. The French expanded the Ohio river vally which caused conflict in the British colonies. THe British offically declared war in 1756. -
Proclamation of 1763
When the French and Indian War concluded, the British tried to have more control over the colonies. The proclamation stated that the boundaries of the colonies were the Appalachian Mountains. The colonies couldn't expand on their own and couldn't make deals with any of the natives. -
Pontiac's War
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Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Pariswas between America and Great Britian. It ended the Revolutionary War and recognized American independence. -
Treaty of Greenville
The head of various tribes met together in Greenville to restore harmony and friendliness between the United States of American and the tribes called the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanees, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pattawatimas, Miamis, Eel Rivers, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws, and Kaskaskias. -
Louisiana Purchase
The United Statess bought approximately 828,000,000 square miles of land from the French. The land stretched from the Mississppi River to the Rocky Mountains and nearly doubled the size of the country then. This land created all or part of 14 states. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark across the country to see if they could find a water route that linked the Columbia and Mississippi Rivers. If they could, new ports could open and new development could occur in the west. Their expedition marked a path for Americans to migrate west and eventually created the 48 continuous states. -
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Tecumseh and The Prophet
Tecumseh was a war chief that changed his brother's religion into a political movement which created the Prophetstown. Prophetstown was later destroyed and Tecumseh died in battle later in his life. -
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Creek War
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Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was a law signed by Andrew Jackson granting unsettled land for the Indians west of the Rocky Mountains in trade for the land the Indians were on inside the staes. Some tribes moved peacefully, but most resisted and were moved forcefully. -
Worcester v. Georgia
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Trail of Tears
The Indians that refused to move west after the Indian Removal Act were forced to migrate to current Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called the journey the Trail of Tears. -
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was the first major wagon train to the northwest. The main reason was for potential farming land. The first group was about 100 people that made the 2,000 mile journey, but the number skyrocketed from there to about 1,000 people. The trail was very hard to travel. -
Gold Discovered in California
James W. Marshall was the first to find gold in a creek while overseeing a mill being built. There had been rumors of gold, but as soon as it was confirmed, thousands of people came to try to find the gold and make a fortune. This was the Gold Rush and the people were called Forty-Niners. -
Passage of the Homestead Act
The Homestead Actwas a way to get people to move out west. It allowed any American citizen to get 160 acres of free land if they paid a small fee and lived there for 5 continuous years. The government eventually approved 1.6 million claims, the last being in 1988. -
Sand Creek Massacre
700 members of the Colorodo Territory attacked the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian villages. The soldiers were drunk and killed over two-thirds of everyone in the tribe. -
Diminished Buffalo Herds
The buffalo herds were killed because of uncontrollable hunting and greed. The Native Americans used almost every part of the buffalo, but the most popular is using the fur and eating the meat. -
Gold in the Black Hills, and the Ft. Laramie Treaty
At first, people could only find small amounts of gold in the Black Hills, but there was a gold rush in that area since gold was known to exist there. A couple of men found a very large amount of gold in a mine that counted for 10% of the world's gold for the next 125 years. Everyone tried to find another mine like that but failed. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Tension between America and a group of Indians since the discovery of gold on their land. When the two tribes missed the federal deadline to move, the government sent in soldiers to fight. They were not aware of the number of Indians and was greatly outnumbered. -
Nez Perce War
A group of Indians wouldn't accept the reserve and refused to move, so they decided to fight the Americans. There was a series of four different battles and had about 145 men to 500 from America.