-
Oct 12, 1492
Discovery of the Bahamas
Columbus discovered the Bahamas, which filled them with even more hopes of discovering riches. This discovery would eventually form Europe, Africa, and the two Americas. It also set up a global economic system and paved the way for many other discoveries. Led to the Columbian Exchange, which mixed Old World elements with New World elements and revolutionized the world for centuries after 1492. -
Jun 7, 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
A territorial agreement between Spain and Portugal stating that Spain received most of the Americas and Portugal received territory in Africa, Asia, and the future Brazil. This treaty allowed Spain to become a dominant exploring and colonizing power, exploring for God, gold, and glory. Vasco Nunez Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean and Ferdinand Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the globe. -
Jun 30, 1520
Noche Triste
Hernan Cortes set sail for Mexico in 1519 and picked up Malinche, a Mayan and Nahuatl speaking Indian who eventually learned Spanish. Moctezuma, the Aztec chieftain, believed that Cortes was the sun god. The Aztecs attacked him in 1520. The Aztecs downfall was largely due to disease as opposed to the war. -
Oct 31, 1530
Protestant Reformation
The English Protestant Reformation begain when King Henry VIII left the Roman Catholic Church. Catholics and Protestants battled for decades until Queen Elizabeth seized the throne in 1558. She declared Protestantism to be the dominant religion in England. Ireland and Spain joined together to try to overthrow Queen Elizabeth but the Spanish weren't much help and Elizabeth destroyed the Irish uprising. -
Battle of Acoma
Led by Don Juan de Onate, the Spanish conquered the Pueblo people and proclaimed the area to be New Mexico, founding its capital at Santa Fe in 1610. -
First Anglo-Powhatan War
Lord De La War declared war on the Indians in Jamestown. He executed the "Irish Tactics" against the Indians. His troops raided villages, burned houses, stole provisions, and burned cornfields. The war ended in 1614 due to the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas. -
Second Anglo-Powhatan War
In 1622, the Indians retaliated by killing 347 settlers, including John Rolfe. The Virginia Company then declared a war that could not be solved by a truce, like the previous war. In 1644, the Powhatans lost once again. In 1646 the Chesapeake Indians were banished from their homeland and could not peacefully coexist with the settlers. The separation would later lead to the reservation system. In 1669 only about 10% of the Indians remained in Virginia. -
Act of Toleration
Protestants threatened to take over Catholicism and severely restrict them. The Act of Toleration guaranteed toleration to all Christians. However, the act sentenced anyone that denied Christ, such as Jews and Atheists, to death. Although the law had more restrictions, it served as a relief to Catholics. -
Pope's Rebellion
The Roman Catholic mission of the Spanish and the missionaries' intentions to exorcise the native religion and customs angered the Pueblo people. The rebels destroyed every Catholic church in the area and killed hundreds of Spanish settlers, including priests. They also built a kiva, which is a ceremonial religious chamber. -
Tuscarora War
Tuscarora Indians attacked New Bern in 1711. The North Carolina colonists along with other southern colonists retaliated against the Indians. They sold hundreds of them into slavery and the remaindor of the Indians travelled northward to find the help of the Iroquois. The Tuscaroras became the Sixth Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy.
