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1493
Queen Isabella has a Problem
Queen Isabella came to the pope with a problem. The queen wanted the Roman Catholic Church's stamp of approval on her claims before the others rushed in. -
1494
Divided
At Tordesillas, Spain and Portugal divided the world for exploration -
1513
Juan Ponce de Leon and Florida
Juan Ponce de Leon leaves Puerto Rico in search of gold and the "fountain of youth" -
1519
Cortes and the Aztec
Hernan Cortes and his soldiers landed on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. They wanted to conquer the Aztec Empire -
1521
Tenochtitlan Falls to the Spanish
After a long violent siege, the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan falls to the Spanish -
1527
Spanish Expidition
A Spanish expedition of about 400 men landed near the present-day Tampa, on the west coast of Florida. The expedition only had four known survivors -
1536
Cabeza de Vaca and His Men
Cabaza De Vaca and his men told their stories of the expedition to Spaniards when they reached Mexico and gave rise to the legend of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola -
1539
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto traveled through the Southeast as far north as the present-day Carolinas and Tennessee. -
1540
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado set out to search for the Seven Cities and some of his men are the first to document the Grand Canyon -
1542
Hernando de Soto Dies
Hernando de Soto dies of a fever, and his men buried him in the Mississippi River -
Period: 1542 to 1543
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed north, exploring the coast of California -
1565
Pedro Menendez de Aviles
The conquistador Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded St. Augustine in Florida -
1577
Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe, plundering Spanish ships and towns on the Pacific coast of South America along the way -
England defeats the Spanish
England's navy defeats the Spanish Armada -
Juan de Onate
The king of Spain sends Juan de Onate to settle New Mexico, which Coronado had abandoned a half-century before