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Aug 3, 1492
Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue
Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer in the service of Spain, sailed west across the Atlantic in search of an alternate trade route to Asia. He never reached Asia, but instead stepped onto an island in the Caribbean that he named San Salvador, or "Holy Savior." -
Jan 1, 1511
First Enslaved Africans Arrive in the Americas
Europeans saw several advantages in using Africans as enslaved laborers in the Americas - they had built up immunity to European diseases, they had experience in farming, they were less likely to escape (they did not know their way around the new land), and their skin color made it easier to catch them if they tried to escape. The first enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas in 1511, and between then to around 1600, nearly 300,000 Africans were transported to the Americas. -
Aug 13, 1521
Cortes Conquers Aztec Empire
When Hernando Cortes arrived at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan with around 600 men, the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, was convinced the Cortes was a god. He agreed to give the Cortes a share of the empire's gold, but Cortes was not satisfied. In 1520, Cortes's men killed many Aztec warriors and chiefs while celebrating a religious festival. The Aztecs rebelled, but the Spaniards retaliated, conquering the Aztecs with the help of native groups and the diseases they had brought with them. -
Nov 1, 1533
Pizarro Conquers Incan Empire
Francisco Pizarro, with an army of about 200, met the Incan ruler, Atahualpa, who commanded a force of about 30,000. The Spaniards waited in ambush, before attacking the Incan force by surprise and kidnapping Atahualpa. In exchange for his release, Atahualpa offered to fill a room once with gold and twice with silver. After receiving these riches, the Spanish instead strangled the king and captured the Incan capital, Cuzco, without a struggle. -
English Found Jamestown
Inspired by the explorations of the Spanish and the French, in 1606, a company of London investors received a charter from King James to found a colony in North America. More than 100 settlers on the company's three ships, pushed out of an English harbor later that year and reached the coast of Virginia about four months later. The colonists claimed the land and named it Jamestown in honor of their king, -
English Found Plymouth
A group known as Pilgrims founded a second English colony, Plymouth, in Massachusetts. These colonists were fleeing religious persecution, and they sought religious freedom in a new land. -
French and Indian War Ends
As they expanded their settlements in North America, the English pushed farther west into the continent, and collided with France;s North American holdings. France and England's colonies began to interfere with each other as they expanded. In 1754, a clash over land claims led to a war between the French and the British. This conflict became known as the French and Indian War.
