-
The Mayas, reliant on corn (maize), dominate the Yucatán Peninsula (Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico). They built cities in rainforests.
-
The Aztecs, who cultivated maize, dominated central Mexico. Their capital was Tenochtitlán, which had around 200,000 people at its peak.
-
The Incas, who cultivated potatoes, dominated Peru and other parts of western South America.
-
The Renaissance boosted innovation and culture in the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe.
-
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile marry, uniting the four kingdoms of Spain. -
The population of the Americas in 1491, a year before the arrival of Columbus, is between 50 and 100 million.
-
North America was probably populated by 1 to 10 million people in the 1490s. Their societies were very diverse and did not develop a shared identity as "Native Americans" until much later in history. Whereas most European languages come from one language family (Indo-European), Native American languages were members of more than 20 different language families, the most prominent being Algonquian, Siouan, and Athabaskan.
-
Columbus arrives in the Bahamas. Meanwhile, Ferdinand and Isabella complete the Reconquista, the retaking of Spain from Muslims, by defeating the last Moorish stronghold.
-
The transfer of plants, animals, and germs between the Old and New Worlds known as the Colombian Exchange begins. The germs aspect decimates Native American populations (population decreases up to 90% occurred within a century after European arrival in an area).
-
The Pope solves territorial conflict by splitting the Americas vertically. Spain gets the land to the west, and Portugal the land to the east.
-
The Line of Demarcation is shifted, ensuring Portuguese control over Brazil and Spanish control over most else. -
The Spanish Empire is the wealthiest European empire in the 1500s and 1600s.
-
Florida is claimed as a Spanish colony by Juan Ponce de Leon. St. Augustine is established in 1565. Hurricanes are abundant and Native American populations decline. Additionally, the Spanish find little gold or silver.
-
The Reformation begins in Europe. Various protestant groups revolt against the authority of the Pope in Rome. Religious wars between Catholics and Protestants begin. A motivation for exploration and colonization is born: escape from religious persecution. -
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captures Tenochtitlán, bringing an end to the Aztec Empire. -
Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro kills Emperor Atahualpa and then takes the Inca capital Cuzco, ending the Inca Empire. The Incas were already weakened by smallpox.
-
Arguments between Spanish priests Bartolomé de Las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda draw to a conclusion over the philosophical rights of Native Americans. Las Casas, advocating for better treatment, convinced the king to institute the New Laws of 1542 to halt forced labor (and the encomienda system), though it was later partially repealed.
-
England begins to be interested in the New World. Due to issues with the monarchy and foreign conflict, England was unable to concern itself until later.
-
The first permanent settlement in U.S. history is founded. Though settlers were looking for gold, tobacco became the true "gold" of Virginia. The English often settled in families in less populated areas with populations already diminished by disease.