Timeline: Spanish Empire

• 1492 - 1493
  First Voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World in three ships in an attempt to establish maritime trade routes to the East.
• 1494
  A Spanish settlement is founded at La Isabela on the island of Hispaniola.
• 7 Jun 1494
  Portugal and Spain sign the Treaty of Tordesillas which divides the world into two spheres of influence.
• 1498
  The Spanish settlement of Santo Domingo on Hispaniola is founded.
• 1502
  The encomienda system is first applied to the Americas on the island of Hispaniola.
• 1503
  The use of the system of encomienda in the Spanish Empire receives approval from the Spanish monarchy.
• 1508
  The Spanish first settle on Puerto Rico.
• 1510
  The Spanish found Nombre de Dios in Panama.
• 1511 - 1513
  Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar conducts the Spanish conquest of Cuba.
• 1511
  The Spanish first settle on Cuba.
• 1511
  The audiencia is formed in Santo Domingo, the first in the Spanish empire.
• 1512
  The Laws of Burgos set out how indigenous peoples should be treated within the Spanish Empire.
• 1513
  The jurist Juan López de Palacios Rubios is tasked with drafting the Spanish Requirement.
• Mar 1513 - Apr 1513
  Juan Ponce de León lands in Florida, the first documented European to do so.
• Jun 1513
  Juan Ponce de León discovers the Tortugas and the Gulf Stream.
• 19 Jun 1513
  The notary Rodrigo de Colmemares reads out the Spanish Requirement for the first time to indigenous people in Colombia.
• Mar 1518
  Charles I of Spain formally accepts the proposal of Ferdinand Magellan to sail to Asia via the Americas.
• Apr 1518
  Juan de Grijalva leads an expedition to explore the eastern coast of Mexico.
• 1519
  The Spanish found the city of Panama.
• 1519
  Veracruz, Mexico is founded by Hernán Cortés.
• Nov 1519
  Motecuhzoma II receives Hernán Cortés at the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
• c. 1520 - 1789
  Spanish treasure fleets transport the riches of the Americas to Spain.
• 22 May 1520
  The Toxcatl Massacre (Massacre in the Great Temple) occurs at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan when Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado launches a surprise attack on Mexica people celebrating the festival of Toxcatl. The event turned the Aztec against the Spanish, leading to further conflict.
• 30 Jun 1520
  The bloody retreat of Hernán Cortés from Tenochtitlan known as the Noche Triste ('Sad Night').
• 1521
  Juan Ponce de León leads a second expedition to Florida to found a Spanish colony. His party is attacked and he dies of his wounds in Cuba.
• 13 Aug 1521
  The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan falls into the hands of Spanish forces led by Hernán Cortés.
• 1522
  Jean de Fleury (aka Florin) captures three Spanish treasure ships off Cape Vincent.
• May 1523
  Hernán Cortés is appointed the first governor of the colony of New Spain (Mexico).
• 1524 - 1834
  The Council of the Indies governs Spanish territories in the Americas.
• 1524 - 1525
  Francisco Pizarro leads his first voyage of exploration to South America.
• Aug 1524
  The Council of the Indies is formed to govern Spanish colonies in the Americas.
• 1526
  Francisco Pizarro leads his second voyage of exploration to South America.
• 1527
  The audiencia is formed in Mexico City (formerly Tenochtitlan).
• Jul 1529
  Francisco Pizarro receives royal backing to explore South America.
• c. 1530
  The first Spanish galleons come into operation.
• Dec 1530
  Francisco Pizarro leaves Panama for his thrid voyage of exploration to South America.
• 1532
  Francsico Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors arrive in South America.
• 15 Nov 1532
  Hernando de Soto reads out the Spanish Requirement to the Inca ruler Atahualpa.
• 16 Nov 1532
  Battle of Cajamarca where the Inca leader Atahualpa is captured and held for ransom by Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro.
• 15 Nov 1533
  Francisco Pizarro takes the Inca capital of Cuzco.
• 1535
  Don Antonio de Mendoza is made the first viceroy of New Spain (Mexico and Central America).
• 18 Jan 1535
  Francsico Pizarro founds Lima (Ciudad de Los Reyes) as the capital of Spanish Peru.
• Jul 1535
  Diego de Almagro leads a 20-month long expedition to explore Chile.
• 6 May 1536
  The Siege of Cusco begins as Inca warriors under Sapa Inca Manco Inca Yapanqui attack the Spanish garrison at Cusco commanded by Hernando Pizarro. The Inca forces continued the siege, in hopes of driving the Spanish from their territory, for ten months but, when Cusco held, they retreated in March of 1537.
• 6 May 1536
  An Inca army led by Manco Inca attackes the Spanish conquistadors in Cusco.
• 1542
  The New Laws unsuccessfully attempt to reduce the application of the encomienda system in the Spanish Empire.
• 1543
  The Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru (the former Inca territory) is established.
• Aug 1550
  The Valladolid debate between Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de Las Casas on how indigenous peoples in the Spanish Americas should be treated.
• 1555
  Captain-General Pedro Menendez de Avilés begins a system of large and escorted convoys for the Spanish treasure fleets.
• Jul 1555
  The French privateer Jacques de Sores brutally attacks Havana.
• 1565 - 1815
  The Manila galleons each year take eastern trade goods from Manila to Acapulco (and return with American silver).
• 1572 - 1573
  Francis Drake explores Panama and seizes a Spanish silver mule train.
• 1573
  Spanish royal regulations are issued on town planning in Spanish America.
• 1573
  Philip II of Spain prohibits the application of the encomienda system in any new territories of the Spanish Empire.
• c. 1575 - 1820
  The repartimiento system of forced labour is practised in the Spanish Empire.
• Mar 1579
  Francis Drake captures the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (aka Cacafuego).
• 1596
  Portobelo replaces Nombre de Dios as the chief Atlantic port in Panama.
• 1599
  Dutch ships begin to take salt from Araya on the coast of Venezuela.
• 1620 - 1697
  Buccaneers operate in the Caribbean and attack both ports and ships along the Spanish Main.
• 1622
  The Nuestra Señora de Atocha Spanish treasure ship is wrecked in a storm off the Florida Keys.
• Sep 1628
  A Dutch force led by Admiral Hein captures the entire New Spain treasure fleet on its way to Havana.
• 14 Feb 1655
  The Mapuche Uprising in the region of modern-day Chile begins as part of the Arauco War against the Spanish Empire. The Mapuche defended their lands repeatedly, forcing Spain to recognize their autonomy. The uprising is among the most successful resistances in the Americas.
• 19 May 1655
  The British Invasion of Spanish Jamaica begins when the English fleet under Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables arrives in Kingston Harbor. The Spanish surrendered on 27 May and Jamaica remained an English possession until 1962.
• Apr 1669
  A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan captures the port of Maracaibo. on the Spanish Main.
• 1681
  The Nuestra Señora de Encarnación Spanish treasure ship is wrecked in a storm off the coast of Panama.
• 1697
  The conquest of the Maya Civilization completed by the Spanish conquistador Martín de Ursúa.
• c. 1700
  The encomienda system goes into decline in most parts of the Spanish Empire.
• 1714
  The military responsibilities of the Council of the Indies are transferred to the Spanish Ministry of the Navy and the Indies.
• 1739
  The Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada (Venezuela and Colombia) is established.
• 13 Jun 1740
  The Siege of St. Augustine, Florida begins as British forces attempt to take the Spanish position of Castillo de San Marcos. The siege lasted over a month, ending on 20 July with a British withdrawal when the fort was resupplied.
• 1763
  The Treaty of Paris sees Spain cede Florida to Britain.
• 1800
  Louisiana is ceded to France by the Spanish.