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Aug 3, 1492
Columbus Sails the Ccean Blue
Competition among European countries is fierce. This inspires Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer in service of Spain, to sail west across the Atlantic in search of a new route to Asia. He doesn't find Asia, but an island in the Caribbean, and his discovery eventually unites the world. -
Jan 1, 1511
First enslaved Africans Arrive in the Americas
In Brazil, the Caribbean, and the North American southern colonies, a European need to keep sugar and tobacco plantations profitable requires a large supply of cheap labor. However, the previously used Native Americans died from warfare, bruatlity, and disease. The Europeans bring in Africans because the Africans are accustomed to the European diseases, they already have experience in farming, they don't know the topography of the land (less escape likelihood), and they are easier to spot. -
Jan 1, 1521
Cortes Conquers Aztec Empire
Hernando Cortes and 600 men, after looking for a while, eventually find Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, with "a disease of the heart that only gold can cure." Montezuma II, the emporer, gives Cortes a bunch of gold, which doesn't satisfy the conquistador. After being forced out, Cortes comes back a year or so later and conquers the Aztec Empire, with superior weaponry, diseases, and the help of some natives who hate their leaders (whom he talks to through Malinche, a native woman translator). -
Jan 1, 1533
Pizarro Conquers Incan Empire
Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, and about 200 men enter the ancient Incan city of Cajamarca. Without warning, they attack the unarmed Incans who had shown up for the Spanish entrance, and capture Atahualpa, the Incan emporer. Atahualpa offers one room of gold and two of silver for his release, but the Spanish take the fortune and kille the emporer. The Incans, without a leader, give little resistance to the Spanish conquering of Cuzco, the Incan Empire's capital. -
English Found Jamestown
Other countries' exploration inspires England. After the mysterious fail of the first English colony, Roanoke, King James funds a journey to found another colony in North America. The settlers land on the Virginia coast, and start the first permanent English colony in North Ameria. After a rocky start, with starvation, disease, and battles with natives, the English eventually find tobacco, and demand in England makes the settlers some money. -
English Found Plymouth
With the goal of religious freedom, a group known as the Pilgirms escape England and head for Jamestown. However, a storm blows their ship, the Mayflower, off course and they land in Massachusetts, near Plymouth Rock. They set up an English settlement called Plymouth, and ten years later, a group known as the Puritans, wanting religious freedom, also settle in North America, near Massachusetts Bay. -
French and Indian War Ends
After establishing the 13 colonies, the British have a desire of more western lands. However, France owns much of the territory, and tension grows between the two countries. Soon, a big conflict over land claims in the Ohio Valley spurs a battle between the French and the British, which the British call the French and Indian War (although Indians fought for both countries, most of them fought for the French). The British win and seize control of most of the eastern half of America.