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Jan 1, 1492
Colombus Sets Sail!
Colombus, the legendary Italian sailor working for Spain, set sail in 1492 in hopes to find a new route to the West Indies. Instead, he stumbled upon the "New World", aka the Americas, and opened up a new chapter in history. -
Jan 1, 1511
First Slaves Arrive in America
Desparate to colonize and make money, European countries begin to ship African slaves off to the Americas. They derived the idea from the Muslims who had formerly enslaved prisoners of war. Portugal, Britain, the Netherlands, and Spain are the core countries involved in the slave trade. African slaves were utilized instead of American natives because they didn't know the terrain and were less likely to escape. They were also immune to many diseases that the natives hadn't been exposed to. -
Jan 1, 1521
Cortes Conquers Aztec Empire
Hernando Cortes, a Spanish conquistador, sailed and relinquished the Aztec Empire. WIth his first conquest, he became the first of many Spanish to settle and conquer in the New World. He drove out the Aztecs, killing native leader Montezuma in the capital, and took over the entire empire. He then started to impose Spanish cultre upon them. -
Jan 1, 1533
Pizarro Conquers the Incan Empire
Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro and an army of 200 set sail to discover new land. They discovered the vast and wealthy Incan Empire in Peru. He met Incan leader Atahualpa, and then captured him. The Incans offered to fill a room with gold and two rooms with silver for his return. The Spanish took the ransom, but strangled Atahualpa and took control of the capital Cuzco in 1533. -
Establishment of Jamestown
The French and Spanish wealth in America inspired the English. In 1606, a company of London investors got a charter from King James to establish a colony in the New World. Three months later, 100 colonists set sail and in 1607, they reached Jamestown, Virginia. The first settlement was pretty much a disaster: settlers were more interested in finding gold than staying alive. Most colonists died from starvation, disease, or battles with natives. Jamestown was the first permamnent settlement. -
English Found Plymouth
In 1620, Pilgrims established a new American colony seeking religious freedom. They set up their new settlement on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts. This settlement was much more successful, and it led to another religiously influenced colony: the Puritans who established a large colony on Masachusetts Bay. -
French and Indian War
In 1754, most of North America's land had been claimed by the French. The Spanish were greedy, though, and began to move onto their land. The French and Spanish had a dispute about the Ohio Villaey that led to a war. This conflict is the French and Indian War. Contrary to its name, it was a battle between the English and the French. The British had nearly 1 million soldiers, while the French and natives had only about 65,000. In 1763, the war ended when the British prevailed.
