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Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus Reaches America
"On October 3, 1492, Columbus left Spain with three ships: the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. On October 12, land was sighted from the Pinta." -
Oct 27, 1512
The Spanish take the first African Slaves to Hispaniola
"The Spanish enslaved Africans to replace the Native People who were dying in large numbers from disease and overwork. On Hispaniola alone, there were 12,000 slaves by 1574." -
Apr 15, 1519
Cortes Arrives in Tenochtitlan
"The people that Cortes met on his way to Tenochtitlan did not want to live under Aztec rule. Many of them decided to help Cortes defeat the Aztecs. At their first meeting Moctezuma agreed to let Cortes stay in Tenochtitlan. -
Aug 3, 1521
Cortes Defeats the Aztecs
"In 1521 the mightiest empire of the Americas fell to the conquistadors. After the conquest of the Aztecs, the Spanish destroyed Tenochtitlan." -
Oct 27, 1527
Bartolome de Las Casas Argues Against Enslavement of Native Americans
"Bartolome de Las casas argues against enslavement of Native Americans: "Bartolome de Las spoke out againts the mistreatment of native people under the care of the church. He said, '[The native peoples] die or lead harsher lives than death. They have been split into shares as if they were herds of cattle of sheep; that is, [divided] among the Spaniards and assigned by a specific number to each to become their slaves.' The efforts had some success." -
Jan 18, 1535
Pizarro Founds a New Capital in Lima, Peru, after defeating the Incas
Spain sent Francisco Pizarro to South America to conquer the Incan Empire. By 1535 Pizarro had founded a new capital called Lima, in a colony called Peru. -
John White Returns to Roanoake Settlement to Find the Colony has Disappeared
"When he got there, everyone had disappeared. The only clue he found was the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Croatoan was the name of the American Indian group that lived near Roanoke Island." -
The English Founded Jamestown
"In 1607, three English ships carrying about 120 colonists reached the eastern coast of Virginia. They sailed up a river which they named the James River in honor of King James. Looking for an area that would be easy to defend, they chose to unload their ships on a peninsula in the river." They named this place Jamestown. It turned out to be a bad place to live. -
Champlain Founds Quebec
Quebec was founded on the St. Lawrence River. "This proved to be a good location for the colony because millions of beavers lived in the forest of this region. Quebec quickly developed into a thriving trade center." -
House of Burgesses Formed
The House of Burgesses was the first law-making assembly in the English Colony. "It helped establish the tradition of self-government. -
The Pilgrims Arrive at Plymouth
The Pilgrims planned to settle in Virginia, but a storm blew them off course. They ended up near New England and decided to settle on a rocky harbor that was called Plymouth -
Mathias de Sousa, an Indentured Servant of African Decent Arrives in Maryland Aboard the Ark
Some people recognize Mathias as the first, free person of African decent living in Maryland. Mathias was a servant who learned skills as a sailor and fur trader to win his freedom." -
Willian Penn Establishes Pennsylvania
"In 1681 King Charles II gave a huge section of land in North America to a man named William Penn." The king owed money that he borrowed from Penn's father. Penn asked for land as repayment. The king named the colony Pennsylvania which means "Penn's Wood."
* The assignment said this happened in 1682. Online research showed March 4, 1681 as the date. -
Georgia, the 13th Colony is Founded
In 1732 George I gave James Ogelthorpe a charter to land south of The Carolinas. This land was called Georgia. -
President Lincoln Declares Thanksgiving a National Holiday
Lincoln was grateful for a Union Army victory at Gettysburg he announced that "the nation will celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday on November 26, 1863."
