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Jan 1, 1001
Leif Erikson explores North America
Leif Erikson was an Icelandic explorer and the first European visitor to North America, 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Leif Erikson, a viking and explorer, was the second of three sons of Erik the Red, who established a settlement in Greenland after he was exiled from Iceland. (an exact date is unknown) -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus discovers America
Christopher Columbus, the son of a wool merchant and weaver, was born in Genoa, Italy and went to sea at the age of 14. Much controversy exists over Columbus' expeditions and whether or not one can "discover" an already-inhabited land. The natives of the Bahamas and other islands on his journey were peaceful and friendly. Yet many of them were later enslaved by the Spanish and forced to convert to a foreign religion (Christianity). -
Jan 1, 1497
John Cabot claims North America for England
Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) was a native of Genoa and a citizen of Venice, who obtained letters-patent from Henry VII of England in 1496 for a voyage of discovery. In the summer of 1497, he crossed the Atlantic and discovered the mainland of North America—probably the Labrador coast, a Canadian province. (an exact date is unknown) -
Jan 1, 1501
Amerigo Vespucci explores the coast of South America
At the invitation of king Manuel I of Portugal, Vespucci participated as observer in several voyages that explored the east coast of South America between 1499 and 1502. On the first of these voyages he was aboard the ship that discovered that South America extended much further south than previously thought. (an exact date is unknown) -
Jan 1, 1519
The Conquest of the Aztec and Inca Empires
After the New World was discovered, Spain soon realized that it was an incredibly valuable resource that should be pacified and colonized. Only two things stood in their way: the mighty Empires of the Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas in Peru, who would have to be defeated in order to establish rule over the newly-discovered lands. (1519-1533)
(exact dates unknown) -
Henry Hudson and the Hudson River, Hudson Bay
English explorer Henry Hudson made two unsuccessful sailing voyages in search of an ice-free passage to Asia. In 1609, he embarked on a third voyage funded by the Dutch East India Company that took him to the New World and the river that would be given his name, the Hudson River. On his fourth voyage, Hudson came upon the body of water that would later be called the Hudson Bay. (an exact date is unknown) -
Treaty of Paris ends French and Indian War
The Treaty of Paris, also known as the Peace of Paris and the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Britain's victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years' War.
The signing of the treaty formally ended the Seven Years' War, which marked the beginning of an era of British dominance outside Europe. -
The Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase took place in 1803. Thomas Jefferson was president and decided to double the size of the Union, by buying land from the France, to support their war. Jefferson paid $60 million dollars for 828,000 square miles, west of the MS River. Although it doubled the size of the U.S. It also created a lot of tension with the economy and Great Britain. -
Independence from Spain and Portugal
Using the Napoleonic invasion of Spain as an excuse, most of Latin America declared independence from Spain in 1810. By 1825, Mexico, Central and South America were free, soon to be followed by Brazil. Spanish rule in the Americas ended in 1898 when they lost their final colonies to the United States following the Spanish-American War. (1806-1898) (an exact date is unknown) -
American Civil War
For four years between 1861 and 1865 the United States engaged in a civil war. Divisions between the free North and the slaveholding South erupted into a full-scale conflict after the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860. -
The War of the Triple Alliance
The most devastating war ever fought in South America, the War of the Triple Alliance pitted Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil against Paraguay. When Uruguay was attacked by Brazil and Argentina in late 1864, Paraguay came to its aid and attacked Brazil. Ironically, Uruguay, then under a different president, switched sides and fought against its former ally. By the time the war was over, hundreds of thousands had died and Paraguay was in ruins. (1864-1870) (an exact date is unknown) -
The War of the Pacific
In 1879, Chile and Bolivia went to war after spending decades bickering over a border dispute. Peru, which had a military alliance with Bolivia, was drawn into the war as well. After a series of major battles at sea and on land, the Chileans were victorious. By 1881 the Chilean army had captured Lima and by 1884 Bolivia signed a truce. As a result of the war, Chile gained the disputed coastal province once and for all, leaving Bolivia landlocked. (1879-1884) (an exact date is unknown) -
The Construction of the Panama Canal
The completion of the Panama Canal by Americans in 1914 marked the end of a remarkable and ambitious feat of engineering. The results have been felt ever since, as the canal has drastically changed worldwide shipping. (1881-1893, 1904-1914) -
The Mexican Revolution
A revolution of impoverished peasants against an entrenched wealthy class, the Mexican Revolution shook the world and forever altered the trajectory of Mexican politics. A bloody war, which included horrific battles, massacres and assassinations, the Mexican Revolution officially ended in 1920 when Alvaro Obregón became the last general standing after years of conflict, although the fighting continued for another decade. (1910-1920) -
World War I
World War I was an extremely bloody war that engulfed Europe from 1914 to 1919, with huge losses of life and little ground lost or won. Fought mostly by soldiers in trenches, World War I saw an estimated 10 million military deaths and another 20 million wounded. (1914-1919) -
World War 2
World War II involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–1945. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year hiatus, of the disputes left unsettled by World War I. The 40-50 million deaths incurred in World War II make it the largest and bloodiest war. (1939-1945) -
The Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement and its allies against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953 and finally ousted Batista on January 1, 1959, replacing his regime with Castro's revolutionary government. Castro's government later reformed along communist lines, becoming the present Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965. (1953-1959) -
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the American public's support for the war. (1955-1975) -
Abraham Lincoln 's Assassination
On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer, fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln at a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War. -
Operation Condor
In the mid-1970's, the governments of the southern cone of South America, (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay) had several things in common. They were ruled by conservative regimes, either dictators or military juntas, and they had a growing problem with opposition forces and dissidents. They therefore established Operation Condor, a collaborative effort to round up and kill or otherwise silence their enemies. (1975-1983) -
The Mexican-American War
Between 1846 and 1848, two neighbors, the United States and Mexico, went to war. It was a defining event for both nations, transforming a continent and forging a new identity for its peoples. By the war's end, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory, the present American Southwest from Texas to California, and the United States became a continental power. (1846-1848) (an exact date is unknown)
