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Italian navigator Christopher Colombus set sail from Spain with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. His crew sighted an island in the Bahamas which he called "Hispañola."
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The Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which drew an imaginary line in the New World. Spain got (many) lands west of the line including North and South America, while Portugal recieved lands east of the line including Brazil and some lands in Africa.
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Portuguese explorer Vassco Da Gama reached India after sailing past the tip of Africa. He Came back to portugal with a small caravan of jewles ans spices.
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Portuguese navigator Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and discover the Pacific Ocean. He claimed the entire body of water for the Kingdom of Spain.
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Perhaps the most infamous conquistador, Hernán Cortés ventured through Mexico and met Montezuma of the Aztec Empire. After seeing the amount of gold and silver the Aztecs had, Cortés gathered up his men and many local Indian warriors and caused the collapse of the Aztec Empire.
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Francisoc Pizarro and his army of Spanish Conquistadors executed the last Incan Emperor Atahuallpa. This marked the end of the 300 years of Spanish civilization.
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A Protestant, Elizabeth I ascended to the English throne in 1558, and famously created a golden period in English history. Ambitious, she promoted piracy by "sea dogs" and defended the country against Catholic Spain.
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Ponce de León discovered Florida in 1513 and 1521 and claimed the land for Florida. Years later, the Spanish built one of the oldest European forts at St. Augustine.
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Spain, a Catholic nation, wanted to seize control of a now Protestant England. To do this, they built a huge naval fleet to invade Great Britain, but the armada was easily defeated by smaller and faster English ships.
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After Queen Elizabeth I died, James I was next in line to ascend to the English throne. Minor expansion and foreign trade came under his rule; however, he was generally unpopular with the people.
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The Virginia Company (a joint-stock company) encouraged settlers to colonize an area of the New World. The settlers eventually founded Jamestown; however, the colony suffered under poor leadership, little planning, and the search for gold that didn't exist.
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A colonist in Jamestown, Virginia, John Rolfe perfected the growing of tobacco in the local soil. He eventually married the Powhatan princess Pocahontas.
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In Virginia, the first Africans started to arrive in Jamestown. Also, the House of Burgesses was established as a "mini-parliament," so that colonists had a minor form of local government.
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After obtaining a charter from the King, Lord Baltimore founded Maryland as a "Catholic Haven." However, backcountry Protestants would clash with Catholic land barons over land and proprietary rights.
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Tensions between Jamestown colonists and the local Native Americans escalated to war. The first war ended about 25 years prior, but the second war caused near extinction to the Powhatans and other tribes.
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The Maryland Act of Toleration was written to stop fighting between Catholics and Protestants in Maryland. The act prohibited all people who followed some form of Christianity; however, it banned any people who did not follow the will of Jesus from Maryland.
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The Barbados Slave Code was a set of laws that dictated what slave could and could not do. The code gave very little rights to slaves, while allowing slave masters almost unlimited power of their slaves.
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Founed after a long period of no expansion for the English Empire, the colony of Carolina was one large colony. Charleston served as one of the busiest ports along the Atlantic coast of America.
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The northern farmers of Carolina were situated between the more aristocratic peoples of southern Carolina and Virginia. After differences between the two groups of people and their cultures arose, North Carolina became its own colony in 1712.
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Intended to act as a buffer for the Carolinas, the colony of Georgia was founded to the south of South Carolina. It served as protection from the Spanish in Florida and teh French from Louisianna.
