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Queen Isabella came to the pope with a problem. The queen wanted the Roman Catholic Church's stamp of approval on her claims before the others rushed in.
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At Tordesillas, Spain and Portugal divided the world for exploration
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Juan Ponce de Leon leaves Puerto Rico in search of gold and the "fountain of youth"
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Hernan Cortes and his soldiers landed on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. They wanted to conquer the Aztec Empire
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After a long violent siege, the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan falls to the Spanish
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A Spanish expedition of about 400 men landed near the present-day Tampa, on the west coast of Florida. The expedition only had four known survivors
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Cabaza De Vaca and his men told their stories of the expedition to Spaniards when they reached Mexico and gave rise to the legend of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola
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Hernando de Soto traveled through the Southeast as far north as the present-day Carolinas and Tennessee.
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Francisco Vasquez de Coronado set out to search for the Seven Cities and some of his men are the first to document the Grand Canyon
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Hernando de Soto dies of a fever, and his men buried him in the Mississippi River
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Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed north, exploring the coast of California
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The conquistador Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded St. Augustine in Florida
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Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe, plundering Spanish ships and towns on the Pacific coast of South America along the way
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England's navy defeats the Spanish Armada
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The king of Spain sends Juan de Onate to settle New Mexico, which Coronado had abandoned a half-century before