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Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was trying to reach Asia. He believed he could reach there by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. He had three ships- the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail. Early October 12, he landed on an island what is now San Salvador in the Bahamas. He mistakenly believed he was in the Indies. That time, they knew they were nowhere near Asia. During his trip, he carried pigs with them, and that is how the first pigs came to the Americas. -
Oct 1, 1519
Alonzo Álvarez de Piñeda
Piñeda and his crew were the first Europeans to see the Texas coast. He was also the first to map the Northern Gulf of Mexico. In 1519, he sailed with a fleet from Jamica to the Gulf of Mexico. He anchored off of Villa Rica shortly after Herman Cortés departed. His map is the first known document of Texas history. -
Oct 3, 1519
Hernán Cortés
In 1519, he sailed from Spanish Cuba to the eastern Coast of Mexico. There, he founded Vera Cruz, the first Spanish settlement in the American mainland. After landing, he learned of the wealthy Aztec Empire. To make sure his soldiers would not retreat, he sank his own ships, but he faced overwhelming odds by the Aztecs. An Indian woman, Malintzin, helped Cortés. -
Oct 3, 1519
Pánifilo de Narváez
Narváez was a soldier and a Spanish conquistador in the Americas. He was born in 1470 in Spain. He is most remembered as the leader of two failed expeditions: the Narváez expedition and the battle with Hernán Cortés. He had permission to settle and rule the land from Northern Mexico to the Florida Peninsula. Even though his men outmanned Cortés 3 to 1, he held captive and taken prisoner. He died in 1528 by drowning. -
Oct 3, 1537
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer of the New World. He was also one of the survivors during the Narváez expedition. During 8 years of traveling, he became a trader, a healer. After returning to Spain in 1537, he first published “The Account" in 1547. In 1540, he was appointed Argentina. He was born in 1488. -
Oct 3, 1554
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Coronado was a Spanish conquistador and explorer. He hoped to reach the Seven Cities of Gold. He was trying to conquest Cíbola. He was born in 1510 with a noble family in Spain and died in 1554. His expedition marked the first European sightings of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. -
Fort St. Louis Established
La Salle was intended to establish a colony near the mouth of the Mississippi River, lands with 200 surviving colonists at Matagorda Bay on the Texas coast, believing the Mississippi is near. La Salle established Fort St. Louis. -
La Salle reaches Mississippi River
La Salle was exploring rivers in America, until he reached the Mississippi River. -
Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
La Salle was a French explorer. He discovered the Great Lakes in the U.S., the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico. He was born in 1687 in present day Huntsville, Texas. He never got married, but was linked to Madeleine, an early settler in New France. He claimed the entire Mississippi River for France. -
France vs. Spain
France declares war on Spain, leading to the 2-year War of the Quadruple Alliance. -
Nacogdoches is founded
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Mission San José is completed
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Most missions in Texas are closed
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Philip Nolan and his men fight Spanish soldiers near Waco
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Louisiana Purchase founded
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The Neutral Ground Agreement is established
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Father Miguel Hidalgo issues the Grito de Dolores
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Juan Bautista de las Casas declares Texas independent from Spain
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Las Casas captured and executed
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Father Hidalgo is executed
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The Gutiérrez-Magee expedition is defeated
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James Long leads group of Anglo Americans to Nacogdoches
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Mexico gains independence from Spain
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Stephen F. Austin brings Anglo American settlers to Texas
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Moses Austin recieves permission to settle 300 families in Texas
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Martín de León petitions to establish the first Tejano colonies in Texas
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Green DeWitt is granted permission to settle 400 families in Texas
