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Jan 1, 1492
Columbus Sails the Ocean Blue
Christopher Columbus was an Italian sailor who was hired by the Spanish to find a route to India. He went against conventional knowledge by sailing west, landing in the Carribean. Thinking he landed in India, he mistakingly called the natives "Indians". -
Jan 1, 1511
First Ensalved Africans Arrive
In 1511, the first enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas. This was a start of a horrible practice that wouldn't end until 1888. By the end of the slave trade, more than 10 million slaves arrived in the Americas. -
Jan 1, 1521
Hernan Cortes Conquers the Aztecs
In 1521, a Spanish conquistador named Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. This was the beginning of the end for other native empires, including the Inca who was conquered only 12 years later. -
Jan 1, 1533
Francisco Pizarro Conquers the Inca
In 1533, Pizarro and his men were able to defeat a force much larger than them to conquer the Inca. Made possible by the European's technological superiority, the Spanish were also able to kidnapp the Incan's leader, Atahualpa. They promptly killed him. -
English Found Jamestown
Jamestown was the first of England's permament settlements in the Americas. After the failure of Roanoke, the British decided to give settlement another try. Jamestown barely survived the first winter, but soon grew wealthy due to the popularity of tobacco. -
English Found Plymouth
Plymouth was first settled by the Pilgrims, a group of people who fled England due ther religious differences. They decided to sail farther north than the settlement at Jamestown. They soon came in contact with a group of Native Americans and celebrated the first Thankgiving at Plymouth. -
French and Indian War Begins
The French and Indian War was a war between the English and the French based in North America. The two countries were fighting over who would control land in North America. The British won the war, but not without consequences. They needed to fund the war, so they turned to the 13 colonies. They began imposing taxes on the colonists, and soon the colonies began to rebel.
