New World Beginnings Timeline

Pangaea

Pangaea

Supercontinent that started breaking apart 225 million years ago.

Canadian Shield

Landmass shaping North America 10 million years ago.

Great Ice Age

Ice age occurring 2 million years ago.

Bering Isthmus

Land bridge connecting Asia and North America 35,000 years ago.

Columbus

Explorer who reached America in 1492.

Aztecs

Dense population in Mexico during early American history.

Caravel

Ship allowing Europeans to reach Africa in 1450.

Encomienda

Spanish system enslaving Indians for Christianization.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Division of the Americas between Spain and Portugal in the 1500s.

Columbian Exchange

Global commerce increase post-Columbus's arrival.

Mestizos

Offspring of conquistadores and Indian women in Latin America.

Pope's Rebellion

Native American uprising in New Mexico against Spanish in 1680.

Black Legend

Concept criticizing Spanish actions in the New World.

Corn

Staple crop developed in highland Mexico around 5,000 B.C.

Mississippian settlement

Height reached at Cahokia around 1,100 A.D.

Marco Polo

Explorer who returned to Europe in 1295.

Magellan

Explorer whose vessel circumnavigated the world in 1522.

Cortes

Conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain in 1519-1521.

Pizarro

Conquistador who crushed the Incas in 1532.

De Soto

Explorer who discovered the Mississippi River in 1539-1542.

Cabrillo

Explorer who journeyed along the California coast for Spain in 1542.

Onate

Spanish conqueror of pueblo peoples in Rio Grande valley 1598-1609.

La Salle

French explorer who ventured down the Mississippi River in the late 1680s.

Serra

Established the first California mission in San Diego in 1769.