SPANISH COLONIZATION TIMELINE
How It All Went Down
Oct 12, 1492
Columbus Reaches America
Columbus arrives in the Bahamas. Europeans are in the Americas to stay. Columbus
eventually makes four voyages to the New World, but dies dejected and forgotten in
Valladolid, Spain in 1506.
1501
Encomienda System
The encomienda system begins, granting Indians to Spanishencomenderos as slaves.
The Spaniards are tasked with protecting the natives and teaching them Christianity.
The system is rife with abuses.
1519
Magellan Circumnavigates Globe
Ferdinand Magellan's ships are the first to circumnavigate the globe. Magellan himself is
killed by natives in the Pacific.
Nov 8, 1519
Cortes Captures Tenochtitlan
Fall of Tenochtitlan: Hernán Cortés and approximately 100 Spaniards capture the
capital of the Aztec Empire.
1519
Cortes Conquers Aztecs
Cortés and his men conquer the entire Aztec Empire in what will later become Mexico.
Jun 7, 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas is signed, dividing newly discovered overseas lands between
Portugal and Spain.
1507
America Named
Geographer Martin Waldseemüler is first to use the name "America" to refer to newlydiscovered continents, after Italian merchant, explorer, and cartographer Amerigo
Vespucci. Columbus loses out on lucrative naming rights.
1513
Balboa Reaches Pacific
Vasco Nuñez de Balboa becomes the first European to gaze upon the Pacific Ocean
after cutting his way across the Isthmus of Panama.
1513
Ponde de León Discovers Florida
Juan Ponce de León discovers Florida.
Jun 30, 1520
Night of Tears
La Noche Triste: The "Night of Tears" in which almost two thirds of Cortés's men (nearly
800 in total) are killed as they try to escape Tenochtitlan after the death of Moctezuma.
1521
First African Slaves
The Spanish import the first African slaves to the territory that will later become the
United States.
1531
Virgin of Guadalupe
Juan Diego, a Mexican peasant, has an apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Before
long, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe becomes the patron saint of the New World.
1550 - 1551
Indian Rights Debated
Bartolomé de Las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda debate the rights of Indians in
the New World in Valladolid, Spain.
1532
Pizarro Invades Peru
Francisco Pizarro invades the Incan Empire and begins the conquest of Peru.
1532
Printing Press
The first printing press is set up in Mexico City. Printing comes to the New World.
1540
Ignatius Loyola Founds Jesuits
A Basque army veteran named Ignatius Loyola founds the Society of Jesus, better
known as the Jesuits. Their mission is to become an "Army of God" under papal
authority to root out heresy and Protestantism. They set up missions throughout the
New World in an effort to win souls for Catholicism by converting Indians.
1540
Seven Lost Cities of Gold
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado leads an expedition in search of El Dorado, the
mythical Seven Lost Cities of Gold. He travels for two years through the territories that
will later become the American Southwest. He finds much desert but no gold.
1545
Silver Discovered
Silver is discovered at Potosí in Bolivia. Spain begins to reap huge financial rewards
from its New World colonies.
1565
St. Augustine Founded
St. Augustine, the first permanent Spanish settlement in what will later become the
United States, is founded in what is now Florida.
May 14, 1607
Jamestown Founded
Jamestown is founded in Virginia, establishing the first permanent English settlement in
America.
1609
Santa Fe Founded
Santa Fe, the capital of present-day New Mexico, is founded.
Aug 13, 1680
Pope Rebellion
The Popé rebellion begins as Pueblo Indians under Native American Chief Popé attack
Santa Fe, driving the Spanish from the area. Spanish colonists react by ending
the encomienda system in 1717, allowing Pueblos to own land, and baptizing babies at
birth.
1692
Pueblo Indians Revolt
RANGEEND_PUEBLO_REVOLT It takes twelve years of fighting for the Spanish to
subdue the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico.
Jul 16, 1769
Junipero Serra and California Missions
Junipero Serra founds the first mission in Alta California at San Diego. By 1823, 21
missions will be established along El Camino Real, stretching from San Diego to
Sonoma, fifty miles north of San Francisco.
May 2, 1808
Spanish War of Independence
Madrid rises against Napoleon's occupying troops, beginning the Spanish War of
Independence. Spanish colonies in South America use the opportunity to start agitating
for independence themselves.
1818
Chilean Independence
Chile gains independence, beginning a cascade which will drive the Spanish out of
America.
1824
Simon Bolivar and South American Independence
RANGEEND_INDEPENDENCE After several years of fighting, liberators Simon de
Bolivar and José de San Martín complete the South American independence
movement. Spain is left with only Cuba and Puerto Rico as colonies.
1821
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail opens as a group of American traders from Independence, Missouri,
led by William Becknell, reaches the Spanish city. The Santa Fe Trail will become the
most important link between northern Mexico and the United States prior to the
Mexican-American War in 1846.
1824
Mexican Independence
Mexico is founded with a Republican Constitution. Spanish rule in North America comes
to an end.
Oct 2, 1835
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales. Texas gains its independence
from Mexico in 1836.
Oct 2, 1835
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo begins. Mexican troops under General Santa Anna defeat the
American garrison occupying the mission church in San Antonio, Texas, but the Alamo
will inspire Texan forces to victory in subsequent battles.
Dec 29, 1845
Texas Joins Union
Texas becomes the 28th state to join the Union.
Apr 25, 1846
Mexican-American War Begins
Boundary issues between Mexico and the new American state of Texas ignite full-scale
war between the United States and Mexico.
Feb 2, 1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
RANGEEND_MEXICAN_WAR The treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo is signed, ending the
Mexican-American War. The United States annexes all or part of New Mexico, Arizona,
California, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming. The land area of the United States grows by
nearly a third in one day.
SPANISH COLONIZATION PEOPLE
Who Made It Happen
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was a navigator and explorer whose famous 1492
voyage from Spain to the West Indies marked the beginning of successful European
colonization of the Americas. On 12...
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) was perhaps the most famous of the Spanish
conquistadors, the conqueror of the mighty Aztec Empire of Central America. From
1519 to 1521, Cortés commanded t...
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (1496-1542) was a Spanish conquistador who led a disastrous
expedition of conquest into the North American interior between 1539 and 1542. De
Soto, who hoped to follow in the foots...
Moctezuma II
Moctezuma II (c. 1466-1520), also known as Montezuma, was the last emperor of the
Aztecs. He was imprisoned by Cortés's Spanish troops and later died in their captivity.
Much of his history is...
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro (1475-1541) was one of the most successful Spanish conquistadors.
In 1532, Pizarro led a small force of Spanish soldiers and conquered the mighty Inca
Empire. He then founded the...
Junipero Serra
Junipero Serra (1713-1784) was a Franciscan friar who founded a series of Missions in
what is now California. Born in Majorca, Spain in 1713, he joined the Order of Friars
Minor in 1730 and asked t...