Period 1: 1491-1607

Native American Societies

1491 — Before European contact, North America contained hundreds of diverse Native societies with different cultures, economies, governments, and environments.

Mississippian Culture

c. 800–1600 — Complex Native American civilization centered in the Mississippi River Valley; known for agriculture, trade, large settlements, and platform mounds.

Cahokia

c. 1050–1350 — Major Mississippian city near present-day St. Louis; one of the largest urban centers in North America.

Pueblo Peoples

Before European contact — Native peoples of the Southwest who lived in permanent settlements and practiced agriculture, especially maize farming.

Ancestral Puebloans

Before European contact — Southwestern peoples who built large stone and adobe settlements and developed advanced farming systems.

Iroquois Confederacy

c. 1450 — Political alliance of several Haudenosaunee nations in the Northeast that helped maintain peace and coordinate diplomacy.

Eastern Woodlands

Before European contact — Region east of the Mississippi containing many Native societies that relied on agriculture, hunting, fishing, and trade.

Great Plains

Before European contact — Region where Native peoples adapted to grasslands through hunting, agriculture, and trade.

Maize

Before European contact — Corn became a major staple crop that supported population growth and settled societies.

Three Sisters Agriculture

Before European contact — Farming method using maize, beans, and squash; the crops supported one another.

Clovis Civilization Established

c. 11,000 BCE — Early North American culture associated with distinctive stone tools and some of the earliest widespread human occupation of North America.

Start of Archaic Period

c. 8000 BCE — Period when Native groups increasingly adapted to diverse environments through hunting, gathering, fishing, and eventually agriculture.

Cahokia Reaches Peak Population

c. 1200 — Cahokia reached its height as a major urban, political, and trade center.

Tenochtitlán Established

c. 1300 — Aztec capital founded on an island in Lake Texcoco; became a major political and economic center.

Black Death Begins in Constantinople

1347 — Bubonic plague reached Constantinople as part of the larger spread of the Black Death across Europe and the Mediterranean.

Motives for European Exploration

1400s–1600s — Europeans explored for wealth, new trade routes, territory, political power, and the spread of Christianity.

God, Gold, and Glory

1400s–1600s — Phrase describing major European motives for exploration: religion, wealth, and national power.

Bartholomeu Dias Rounds Southern Tip of Africa

1488 — Portuguese explorer rounded the southern tip of Africa, demonstrating a sea route toward the Indian Ocean.

Christopher Columbus Sets Sail from Spain

1492 — Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic seeking a route to Asia.

Christopher Columbus Reaches the Americas

1492 — Columbus reached the Caribbean, beginning sustained European contact and colonization in the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

After 1492 — Exchange of plants, animals, diseases, people, and technologies between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 — Agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing much of the newly encountered non-European world between the two powers.

European Settlers Import Enslaved People from Africa

1502 — Enslaved Africans were brought to Spanish colonies in the Americas, helping establish African slavery in the New World.

Spanish Exploration and Conquest

1500s — Spain explored and conquered large areas of the Americas for wealth, territory, and religious conversion.

Vasco de Balboa Crosses the Isthmus of Panama

1513 — Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and became the first European known to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas.

Juan Ponce de León Explores Florida

1513 — Spanish explorer reached Florida while searching for land and resources.

Hernán Cortés Leads Military Expedition into Mexico

1518 — Cortés led a Spanish expedition into Mexico and formed alliances with Native groups opposed to the Aztecs.

Fall of Aztec Empire

1521 — Cortés and Indigenous allies defeated the Aztec Empire and captured Tenochtitlán.

Francisco Pizarro Conquers the Inca Empire

1530s — Spanish forces under Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire in South America.

Hernando de Soto Explores the Southeast

1539–1542 — Spanish expedition explored parts of the southeastern and interior regions of North America.

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Explores the Southwest

1540–1542 — Spanish expedition explored the Southwest and Great Plains while searching for wealthy cities.

Spanish Debate Over Treatment of Native Americans

1550 — Debate between Bartolomé de Las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda over the treatment and rights of Indigenous peoples.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

1500s — Spanish priest who defended Indigenous peoples and criticized abuses of the encomienda system.

Encomienda System

1500s — Spanish colonial labor system that gave colonists control over Indigenous labor and tribute; often resulted in exploitation.

Black Legend

1500s–1600s — Anti-Spanish idea promoted by Spain's European rivals that emphasized Spanish cruelty toward Indigenous peoples.

Mestizos

1500s onward — People of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry; their population grew through interactions between Europeans and Native peoples.

Smallpox and Native American Population Decline

1500s onward — European diseases caused catastrophic population losses among Native Americans who lacked immunity.

Spanish Fort Established at St. Augustine, Florida

1565 — Spain established St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European-founded settlement in the present-day United States.

Spanish Missions

1500s–1700s — Religious settlements established by Spain to convert Indigenous peoples and strengthen Spanish control.

Roanoke Colony

1580s — English colony established on Roanoke Island that disappeared and became known as the "Lost Colony."

Sir Walter Raleigh

1580s — English supporter of colonization who sponsored the Roanoke settlement.

Don Juan de Oñate Travels North from Mexico

1598 — Spanish expedition led by Oñate moved into present-day New Mexico, expanding Spanish settlement and influence.

Jamestown Established

1607 — First permanent English settlement in North America; tobacco eventually became its major cash crop.

Spanish Establish Santa Fe

1609 — Spanish established Santa Fe as a permanent settlement in present-day New Mexico.

Pueblo Revolt

1680 — Pueblo peoples, led by Popé, revolted against Spanish rule and temporarily drove the Spanish from New Mexico.

Popé

1680 — Pueblo religious leader who organized the Pueblo Revolt against Spanish colonial rule.

Native American-European Interactions

1492 onward — Contact produced trade, alliances, warfare, cultural exchange, disease, population decline, and competition for land.

Native American Alliances with Europeans

1500s onward — European powers formed alliances with Native nations for military and political advantages.

European Competition in North America

1500s–1600s — Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands competed for land, resources, trade, and influence.

Spanish Colonization

1500s–1600s — Spain established settlements, missions, and systems of government throughout Florida, the Southwest, Mexico, and other parts of the Americas.

St. Augustine

1565 — Spanish settlement in Florida that became the oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the present-day United States.

Roanoke

1585–1590 — Early English settlement attempt on Roanoke Island; the colonists disappeared.

Jamestown

1607 — First permanent English settlement in North America; tobacco became the colony's economic foundation.

Period 1: 1491–1607

1491–1607 — Period characterized by diverse Native American societies, European exploration, the Columbian Exchange, Spanish conquest and colonization, and the beginnings of permanent English settlement.