European and American Timeline

  • Period: 1540 to

    Spain claims Nebraska the first time

    This is when Francisco de Coronado claimed the land that is Nebraska for Spain. Villasur came and investigated French activity on it, and he and some of his team were killed, so Spain relinquished control of the land.
  • Feb 23, 1540

    Coronados Expedition

    Coronado went on an exploration to see if there was a city of gold called the city of Cibola in the country of Quiveria. He was unsuccessful because there is no city of Cibola.
  • Jacques Marquette Expedtion

    Jacques Marquette was sent with Louis Joliet to explore the area from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Jacques was a Jesuit missionary and Joliet was a fur trader.
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    France claims Nebraska the first time

    France gained this land when the Indians killed Villasur, so they got the land. They laid claim to it in 1682, but didn't firmly gain control of it until 1720. They ended up losing the Seven Year War, so they had to give the land to Spain.
  • Etienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont

    This dude found the mouth of the Platte River and named it the "Nebraskier River," which is Oto for flat water.
  • Villasur's Expedition

    Spain got nervous that France was trading with the Indians on their land, so they sent Villasur to figure out if this was true and stop it if it was. He was surrounded by Indians and killed.
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    Spain claims Nebraska for the second time

    This was a result of France losing the Seven Year War to Britain. But, since France didn't want Britain to claim the land, they gave it to Spain. Spain lost it later on and traded it to France for some closer land.
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    France claims Nebraska the second time.

    France claimed this land in the Treaty of Aranjuez. Napoleon ended up selling the land to America though, because he thought they would take it over anyway and he wanted some cash so he could win some wars with other European countries.
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    America buys Nebraska

    President Jefferson wanted to purchase New Orleans from France so they could ship stuff up the Mississippi River, but they ended up buying the Louisiana Purchase for 15 million dollars, or four cents per acre. This land included 12 states, Nebraska being one of them.
  • Lewis and Clarks Expedition

    Lewis and Clark where sent to explore a new piece of land called the Louisiana Purchase. They were also supposed to find a route to the Pacific Ocean.
  • Zebulon Pike's Expedition

    Pike was sent out to explore the Great Plains, and he discovered Pikes Peak, which was named after him. He said that Nebraska was like the deserts of Africa.