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Jan 1, 1000
Vikings reach North America
In 1,000 A.D. the Vikings reach North America, approximately 5 centuries before the voyage of Christopher Columbus. -
Jan 1, 1300
Renaissance begins
The renaissances period begins in the 1300's -
Jan 1, 1418
Prince Henry establishes a school of navigation
Prince Henry started the first school for oceanic navigation along with an astronomical observatory at Sagres, Portugal. -
Jan 1, 1441
Portuguese begins selling African slaves
In 1441, the first slaves were brought to Portugal from northern Mauritania -
Aug 3, 1492
Columbus sails from Spain
Christopher Columbus was hoping to find a route to India in order to trade for spices. -
Oct 12, 1492
Columbus reaches San Salvador
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Jan 1, 1500
Amerigo Vespucci sails to the Indies
Seven years after Columbus's voyage to the West Indies, Italian Amerigo Vespucci sailed across the Atlantic in search of a passage to India. -
Jan 1, 1513
Ponce de Leon visits Florida
Juan Ponce de Leon lands on the east coast in 1513 and visits Florida. -
Jan 1, 1519
Cortes conquers the Aztecs
The Spaniards landed on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in 1519, where they found the advanced society of the Aztecs. -
Jan 1, 1531
Pizarro conquers the Inca
In January 1531, a Spanish expedition led by Francisco Pizarro, on a mission to conquer the Inca Empire, landed on Puná Island. -
Jan 1, 1542
De Verrazzano reaches North America
Sailing along the coast, he reached the Outer Banks of Carolina. -
Sep 8, 1565
St. Augustine
St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin in the United States. -
Roanoke
Over 100 men, women and children journeyed from England to Roanoke Island on North Carolina's coast and established the first English settlement in America. Within three years, they had vanished with scarcely a trace. -
Renaissance ends
The Renaissance period ends in the 1600's -
Jamestown
104 men set foot on Jamestown Island after a harrowing four-and-a-half-month voyage from England -
De Champlain sets up permanent settlements in Quebec
In 1608, Samuel de Champlain created the first truly permanent French settlement in the area around where Québec City stands today. It was a small settlement - no more than 60 colonists lived here by 1620. -
Hudson sails the Hudson River
Explorer Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon. Strong head winds and storms forced them to abandon the northeast voyage they had been assigned. Rather than return to Holland with nothing to report, the crew voted to look for the Northwest Passage, a legendary waterway that would carry a ship all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. They passed by the island we know toda -
Hudson Bay
English explorers and colonists named Hudson Bay after Henry Hudson, who explored the bay beginning August 2, 1610, on his ship the Discovery. -
De Champlain sets up permantent settlements in Montreal
1st Jan, 1611, De Champlain sets up permanent settlements in Montreal. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was signed aboard ship on November 11, 1620 by most adult men (but not by most crew and adult male servants). -
Dutch built Fort Orange and found New Amsterdam
in 1624, the Dutch buily Fort Orange and found New Amsterdam, now known as New York City.
