Exploration Timeline By anna.clippinger Period: Jan 1, 1492 to Dec 31, 1750 Exploration Jan 20, 1500 French fishing ships were crossing the Atlantic to harvest the best Cod, by Newfoundland, Canada. Jan 20, 1519 Hernan Cortes landed on the coast of Mexico. Jan 23, 1519 Small pox spread amoung the Aztecs and shrank the population. Jan 20, 1521 Cortes and his Indian allies captured and demolished Tenochtitlan in a brutal battle. Jan 20, 1530 Spain started bringing Africans to the Americas as slave laborers. Jan 20, 1532 Francisco Pizarro arrived in Peru. Jan 20, 1540 A huge amount of silver iss found in Peru. Jan 20, 1542 Spain passed the New Laws of the Indies. Jan 20, 1550 Spain has claimed a vast empire stretching all the way from California to South America. Jan 20, 1550 Mexico was the largest Spanish-speaking city in the worl. Jan 20, 1551 University of Mexico was established. Jan 20, 1607 English built their first colony in North America, Jamestown, Virginia. Jan 20, 1663 Harvard was founded, it was the first college in the 13 English colonies. Jan 20, 1700 France and England controlled large parts of North America. Jan 21, 1700 French forts, missions, and trading posts stretched all the way from Louisiana to Quebec.