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Christian Crusades arouse European interest in the East as the Crusaders begin to arrive back home in the West with elegant silks, spices and other items they obtained while fighting in the East.
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Marco Polo, an Italian Explorer, returns to Europe after spending nearly twenty-years living in China and observing and documenting their society.
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The Spanish reconquer the Iberian Peninsula and unify Spain.
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Columbus and his men land in present day Bahamas and claim the New World for Spain.
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The first of many treaties between Spain and Portugal is reached dividing the New World into respective regions for each country.
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John Cabot and his associates explore the coastline of North America, most notably the New Foudnland, for England,
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Vasco Da Gama reaches India by sailing around Africa and into the Indian Ocean.
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Juan Ponce de Leon discovers what he thinks is another island and names it Florida. He returns in 1521 for further exploration.
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Bilbao crosses the isthmus of Panama and "discovers" and claims all lands touching the Pacific Ocean for Spain,
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Cortes conquers the Aztec Empire in Mexico and claims it for Spain,
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Magellan dies in the Philipines during his attempt to circumnavigate the world.
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Cortes captures the Azetec ruler Cuauhtémoc which leads to the conquering of his city, which later becomes Mexico City.
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Pizarro defeats the Incas at the Battle of Battle of Cajamarca, further strenghthening Spanish rule in Peru and South America.
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De Soto explores the Southeast and discovers the Mississippi River.
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Coronado explores the present day Southwest.
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De Soto dies of fever during his exploration of the Southeast.
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This was the beginning of Cabrillos exploration north along the coast of present day California. He claimed it all for Spain.
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The Spanish build a fotress at the site called St. Augustine, which today is the oldest settlement in the United States.
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A native uprising in New Mexico where the local Pueblos attacked and destroyed every Catholic church in the province and killed many priests and Spanish settlers.
