SPANISH EMPIRE, OVERSEAS CONTROL

By carla___
  • Oct 12, 1492

    Christopher Columbus lands in the Americas (San Salvador island)

  • May 4, 1493

    Papal Bull Inter Caetera grants Spain rights to colonize lands west of a meridian in the Atlantic.

  • Feb 12, 1502

    First Franciscan missionaries arrive in Hispaniola.

  • Jan 20, 1503

    Casa de Contratación (House of Trade) is created in Seville to control commerce with the colonies.

  • Dec 27, 1512

    Laws of Burgos are enacted, the first legal code governing the treatment of Indigenous peoples.

  • Apr 2, 1513

    Juan Ponce de León lands in Florida, the first documented European arrival in what is now the continental U.S.

  • Aug 16, 1519

    Hernán Cortés begins march to Tenochtitlán (Aztec capital).

  • Aug 9, 1521

    Fall of Tenochtitlán; the Aztec Empire is conquered.

  • Jul 8, 1524

    Council of the Indies is established to oversee colonial governance.

  • Nov 16, 1532

    Francisco Pizarro captures Atahualpa, emperor of the Inca Empire.

  • Jul 26, 1533

    Execution of Atahualpa; the Inca Empire begins to fall.

  • Nov 14, 1535

    Creation of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (capital: Mexico City).

  • Jun 2, 1537

    Pope Paul III issues Sublimis Deus, declaring Indigenous people as rational beings with souls.

  • Nov 20, 1542

    New Laws are issued to regulate the encomienda system and protect Indigenous rights.

  • Mar 1, 1543

    Creation of the Viceroyalty of Peru (capital: Lima).

  • 1546

    Jesuits begin missions in Brazil and later expand into Paraguay and the Río de la Plata region.

  • May 18, 1551

    Founding of the University of San Marcos in Lima, the oldest in the Americas.

  • Jan 22, 1565

    Founding of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest European city in what is now the U.S.

  • 1571

    Establishment of the Inquisition in New Spain to enforce Catholic orthodoxy.

  • Mar 28, 1573

    Philip II issues Royal Ordinances regulating the establishment of new towns and missions.

  • Creation of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (capital: Bogotá).

  • Expulsion of the Jesuits from all Spanish territories, including the Americas.

  • Creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (capital: Buenos Aires).