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Columbus lands in the Bahamas, "discovering" America.
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The Treaty of Tordesillas drew a line passing through modern day Brazil from pole to pole. East of the line belonged to Portugal, and west of the line belonged to Spain. The treaty was meant to settle a dispute between Spain and Portugal about who the land discovered by Columbus belonged to.
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Ferdinand Magellan leaves Seville, Spain on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
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Magellan is killed after getting himself and his crew involved in local warfare in the Philippines. What's left of his crew finishes the voyage.
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Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor surrenders to Cortes.
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Emperor Atahualpa is killed in battle, ending Incan rule by Incas.
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After sailing up the St. Lawrence River, Champlain found a spot to build a wooden fort. That spot was the future site of Quebec City.