1465 CE - 1524 CE: Life of the conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar who conquered and then governed Cuba.

1475 CE - 1538 CE: Life of the Spanish conquistador Diego de Almagro.

1478 CE - 1541 CE: Life of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro.

1485 CE - 1541 CE: Life of the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado.

1485 CE - 1547 CE: Life of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.

1489 CE - 1527 CE: Life of the conquistador Juan de Grijalva.

1492 CE - 1580 CE: Life of the Spanish conquistador and chronicler Bernal Díaz.

1500 CE - 1542 CE: Life of the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto.

1511 CE - 1513 CE: Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar conducts the Spanish conquest of Cuba.

1513 CE: The notary Rodrigo de Colmemares reads out the Spanish Requirement for the first time to indigenous people in Colombia.

1517 CE: Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar sends an expedition led by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba to explore the Yucatán peninsula.

1518 CE: Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar sends an expedition led by Juan de Grijalva to explore the Yucatán peninsula.

1518 CE: Juan de Grijalva leads an expedition to explore the eastern coast of Mexico.

1519 CE: Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar sends an expedition led by Hernán Cortés to explore the Yucatán peninsula.

1519 CE - 1521 CE: Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar and Hernán Cortés contest who has the legal right to lead the conquest of Mexico.

1520 CE: Hernán Cortés is obliged to leave Tenochtitlan and face a rival force of conquistadors led by Panfilo de Narváez at Veracruz.

1520 CE: The bloody retreat of Hernán Cortés from Tenochtitlan known as the Noche Triste ('Sad Night').

1520 CE: Hernán Cortés defeats a large Aztec army at Otumba.

1520 CE: Hernán Cortés captures the city of Texcoco.

1521 CE: The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan falls into the hands of Spanish forces led by Hernán Cortés.

1522 CE: Hernán Cortés leads an expedition against the Huaxtecs in Mexico.

1523 CE - 1524 CE: Hernán Cortés organises an expedition to Honduras led by Cristóbal de Olid.

1523 CE - 1524 CE: The conquistador Pedro de Alvarado leads the conquest of the Maya in Guatemala.

1523 CE: Hernán Cortés is appointed the first governor of the colony of New Spain (Mexico).

1525 CE - 1528 CE: The conquistador Pedro de Alvarado leads the conquest of El Salvador.

1525 CE: Juan de Grijalva leads the naval part of a Spanish expedition to explore northern Mexico.

1527 CE: Pedro de Alvarado is offically made the governor of Guatamala.

1527 CE: The Spanish conquistador Juan de Grijalva is killed in Honduras.

1528 CE: Hernán Cortés returns to Spain and is honoured by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

1531 CE - 1532 CE: Hernán Cortés explores the Pacific coast of North America as far as California.

1532 CE: Francsico Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors arrive in South America.

1532 CE: Hernando de Soto reads out the Spanish Requirement to the Inca ruler Atahualpa.

1534 CE: Pedro de Alvarado leads an expedition of conquistadors to Ecuador and Peru.

1535 CE: Diego de Almagro leads a 20-month long expedition to explore Chile.

1537 CE: Hernando de Soto is made a Knight of Santiago, the governor of Cuba, and awarded the status of adelantado for North American exploration.

1538 CE: The Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado is made the governor of Honduras.

1539 CE - 1542 CE: The spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto leads an expedition of discovery and conquest in Florida and the southwestern part North America.

1540 CE: Pedro de Alvarado joins an expedition led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado to explore North America.