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Aug 3, 1492
Columbus discovers the New World
Columbus concluded the native people to be an deficient race by their clothless bodies. He noted that "they could easily be commanded and made to work, to sow and to do whatever might be needed, to build towns and be taught to wear clothes and adopt our ways." -
Feb 1, 1519
Hernan Cortes conquers the Aztecs
Hernan Cortes completed his conquest of the Aztec empire in 1521 after invaded Mexico. He then established the colony of New Spain. -
Jan 1, 1552
Bartolome de Las Casas Criticizes the Spanish
Bartolome de Las Casas, (The first priest ordained in the Western hemisphere and chief architect of the now invalid "New Laws" against Indian enslavement), issued Brief Relations of the Destruction of the Indies, which provided many horrid examples of the colonists' treatment of Indians. -
Founding of Jamestown
The colonists of the London Company founded Jamestown in Virginia. By the end of the year, starvation and disease reduced the original 105 settlers to just 32 survivors. Captain John Smith is captured by Native American Chief Powhatan and saved from death by the chief's daughter, Pocahontas. -
King Philip's War starts
King Philip's War, or sometimes called Metacom's War, was an armed conflict between Native American colonist of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies. -
Bacon’s Rebellion
Tobacco planters led by Nathaniel Bacon asked for and were denied permission to attack the Susquehannock Indians, who had been conducting invations on colonists' settlement. Angry at Governor Berkeley's refusal, the colonists burned Jamestown and killed many Indians before order was reestablished in October. -
King Philip's War ends
King Philip's War, or sometimes called Metacom's War, was an armed conflict between Native American colonist of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies. -
French and Indian War starts
What is now known as the French and Indian War, started in November 1753, when the young Virginian major George Washington and a number of men headed out into the Ohio region with the mission to deliver a message to a French captain insisting that French troops drop out from the territory. -
French and Indian War ends
What is now known as the French and Indian War, started in November 1753, when the young Virginian major George Washington and a number of men headed out into the Ohio region with the mission to deliver a message to a French captain insisting that French troops drop out from the territory. -
Pontiac’s War
The Ottawa Indians under Chief Pontiac begin all-out warfare against the British west of Niagara, New York, destroying several British forts and conducting a operation against the British at Detroit, Michigan. In August, Pontiac's forces are defeated by the British near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The operation of Detroit ends in November, but hatred between the British and Chief Pontiac continue for several years. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763, signed by King George III of England, prevents any English settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains and requires those already settled in those regions to return east in an attempt to ease tensions with Native Americans. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1783, agreed between the United States and Great Britain, ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence. -
Treaty of Greenville
This treaty marked the end of an undeclared and multi-tribal war begun in the late 1770s and led by the Shawnee who fought to resist American expansion into Ohio. -
Louisiana Purchase
It added to the United States French territory from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northwest. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition starts
Lewis and Clark go on an expedition with Sacagawea. Under direction of President Jefferson, Lewis and Clark outlined the western territory with the help of Sacagawea (a Shoshone Indian). -
Lewis and Clark Expedition ends
Lewis and Clark go on an expedition with Sacagawea. Under direction of President Jefferson, Lewis and Clark outlined the western territory with the help of Sacagawea (a Shoshone Indian). -
Tecumseh and The Prophet beginning
Tecumseh (Chief of the Shawnee), and his brother, known as The Prophet, founded Prophetstown for the settlement of other Indian peoples who believed that signing treaties with the US government would end up in the loss of the Indian way of life. -
Tecumseh and The Prophet end
Tecumseh (Chief of the Shawnee), and his brother, known as The Prophet, founded Prophetstown for the settlement of other Indian peoples who believed that signing treaties with the US government would end up in the loss of the Indian way of life. -
Creek War beginning
The Creek War was prompted by General Andrew Jackson who sought to end Creek support to give up their land to the US government. The Creek Nation was defeated and at the Treaty of Fort Jackson, the Creek lost 14 million acres (two-thirds of their tribal lands). To count the Creek dead, whites cut off their noses, piling 557 of them. This was the single largest cession of territory ever made in the southeast. -
Creek War end
The Creek War was prompted by General Andrew Jackson who sought to end Creek support to give up their land to the US government. The Creek Nation was defeated and at the Treaty of Fort Jackson, the Creek lost 14 million acres (two-thirds of their tribal lands). To count the Creek dead, whites cut off their noses, piling 557 of them. This was the single largest cession of territory ever made in the southeast. -
Indian Removal Act
On April 7, President Andrew Jackson presented a bill to Congress calling for the removal of tribes in the east to lands west of the Mississippi. The Indian Removal Act was passed on May 28th, and from 1830 to 1840 thousands of Native Americans were harshly removed. -
Worcester v. Georgia
A missionary from Vermont who was working on Cherokee land sued the State of Georgia which had arrested him, claiming that the state had no authority over him within the barrier of the Cherokee Nation. The Court, which ruled in Worchester's favor, held that state laws did not extend to Indian country. Such a ruling clarified that Indian tribes were under protection of the federal government, as in Cherokee v. Georgia. -
Trail of Tears
In five groups, over 14,000 Creek Indians were forcibly removed by the US Army from Alabama to Oklahoma. The Cherokee Trail of Tears resulted from the enforcement of the Treaty of New Echota, an agreement signed under the provisions of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. -
Oregon Trail
Westward migration begins along the Oregon Trail through Plains Indian country. A 2,200-mile historic east-west large wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. -
Gold discovered in California
James Marshall discovered gold near Sutter's Fort, California. The California Gold Rush of 1849 begins after news of the find was told. -
Passage of the Homestead Act
After being passed by congress, the Homestead Act makes western lands belonging to many Indian Nations available to non-Indian American settlers. This marked the beginning of mass migrations to Indian lands for non-Indian settlement. -
Sand Creek Massacre
The baseless attack at Sand Creek carried huge importance for the Cheyenne and Arapaho, the Plains Indian nations, and for the United States. -
Diminished Buffalo Herds
On January 20, Buffalo Soldiers, under the command of Captain Francis Dodge, came upon a settlement of Mescalero Apaches in the most remote region of New Mexico’s Guadalupe Mountains and attacked them, killing ten Mescalero Apaches and taking 25 ponies. -
Gold in the Black Hills, and the Ft. Laramie Treaty
George Armstrong Custer announced the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of Dakota, setting off a chase of fortune-hunters into this most cherished part of Lakota territory. Although the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty required the government to protect Lakota lands from white intruders, federal authorities worked instead to protect the miners already crowding along the path Custer blazed for them, which they called "Freedom's Trail" and the Lakota called "Thieves’ Road." -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Ignoring warnings of a massed Sioux army of 2,000-4,000 men, Custer and 250 soldiers attack the forces of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at the Little Bighorn. George Armstrong Custer and 210 men under his command are killed. The news reaches the east for the Independence Day Centennial celebrations. -
Nez Perce War
This war occurred when the US army responded to some American deaths along the Salmon River, said to have been committed by the Nez Perce. To avoid a battle that would have resulted in being forced onto a reservation, about 800 Nez Perce fled 1,500 miles.
