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Genoese explorer, Christopher Columbus, heads west in search of Asia but instead lands in the Americas. He claims land in the Caribbean for the Spanish (Hispaniola) who fund three more of his expeditions.
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Columbus embarks on another expedition to Hispaniola. The Spanish set up an elaborate plan that harnessed the labor of Natives to work on plantations. They dominated the Natives because of their superior weapons and the diseases they carried. The result was that Natives were wiped out and Africans were imported to take their jobs on the plantations.
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Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas that gave the Eastern part of the Western Hemisphere to Portugal and the Western part to Spain. This came as a result of increasing tensions and rivalry between these European nations.
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After the exploration of the New World, new plants and animals were transferred from the Old World, such as coffee, bananas, sugar cane, grains, horses, and diseases. Items that came from the New World were squash, pumpkin, turkey, peanut, potato, tomato, tobacco, and cacao beans.
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The conquistador arrives in Mexico and learns of the wealth of the Aztec empire. They were mesmerised by what they saw from engineering feats and irrigation systems. They also wanted a share of the gold that they Aztecs had. The emperor, Montezuma, thinking that Cortes was a god, gave Cortes gold.
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After being forced to mine for more gold and silver, the Aztecs rebelled against the Aztecs. It was believed that Montezuma was killed by his own people who later drove Cortes out.
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Cortes' forces were able to defeat the Aztecs because of the diseases they brought with them. They finally sacked Tenochtitlan and the Aztecs surrendered.
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Pizzaro destroyed the wealthy Incan empire, adding to a vast Spanish empire including New Spain, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Cultural outposts were spread out to spread their traditions.
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The Spanish lived with the Natives and instilled their culture in those regions, which led to the birth of a new class of mestizos. They established the encomienda system under which Natives farmed, ranched, or mined for the Spanish. The system was abolished in 1542 which led to the import of Africans to work in those places.
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John Smith formed Jamestown Colony which was funded by joint-stock companies. The colony suffered from starvation because they neglected agriculture and focused on mining gold.
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The first enslaved Africans were brought to the US by a Dutch merchant.
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English were offered 50 acres of land, and indentured servants settled for food and shelters. Some African Americans were given land and freedom after working.
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Non-separatist Puritans moved to New England and created the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They incorporated Plymouth colony. They moved to New Hampshire and Connecticut where they conflicted with the Natives.
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The Dutch government grants the Dutch West India Company permission to colonize New Netherlands and help expand the fur trade.
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New Amsterdam, now NYC, was founded and became the capital of the colony.
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King Charles I granted land north of Chesapeake Bay to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, whose son named it Maryland after Queen Henrietta Maria
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The English Parliament passed laws to tighten control of colonial trade through the Navigation Acts. They allowed for Britain to exercise complete control over trade restrictions between the colonies and Britain. The colonies could export only to England, and ships had to pass through English ports.
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New Sweden, a small colony of Swedish and Finnish fur traders along the Delaware River, was taken over by the Dutch.
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King Charles II awarded land to a group of supporters between Virginia and Florida. The thirteen colonies were beneficial for Britain because they provided resources for the mother country that could be made into products and sold back.
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The English take over New Netherlands and renamed it New York, who then divided it into New Jersey and New York.
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Indentured servants fought with Natives over land, which prompted the governor of Virginia to build forts to protect both groups. The colonists refused to pay the taxes for the fort. Nathaniel Bacon unsuccessfully tried to convince the governor to get rid of the taxes.
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New English colonists fought the Natives after they disputed land and religion. The Natives were defeated.
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King Charles II granted William Penn land which was then used to establish a Quaker society in Pennsylvania. The Quakers were harassed in Britain for their radical ideas. Penn awarded 50 acres of land and the right to vote for all adult males. The government consisted of an assembly and freedom of religion was tolerated.
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James Oglethorpe, a philanthropist, gained a charter for a colony of debtors named Georgia after King George II. The British Crown assumed complete control of it later in 1752.
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The colonial governments were characterized by having a governor appointed by the Crown that was the highest power. He presided over a council that advised him and an assembly made up of wealthy white males. The governor had the right to veto laws, appoint judges, but the assembly checked his power since they paid him. The colonies developed a sense of self-determination and a craving for freedom that would be the precursor for the Revolution.
