Search Results
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1492 - 1493First Voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World in three ships in an attempt to establish maritime trade routes to the East.
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1494A Spanish settlement is founded at La Isabela on the island of Hispaniola.
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7 Jun 1494Portugal and Spain sign the Treaty of Tordesillas which divides the world into two spheres of influence.
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1498The Spanish settlement of Santo Domingo on Hispaniola is founded.
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1508The Spanish first settle on Puerto Rico.
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1510The Spanish found Nombre de Dios in Panama.
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1511The Spanish first settle on Cuba.
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1519The Spanish found the city of Panama.
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1519Veracruz, Mexico is founded by Hernán Cortés.
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Nov 1519Motecuhzoma II receives Hernán Cortés at the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
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c. 1520 - 1789Spanish treasure fleets transport the riches of the Americas to Spain.
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13 Aug 1521The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan falls into the hands of Spanish forces led by Hernán Cortés.
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1522Jean de Fleury (aka Florin) captures three Spanish treasure ships off Cape Vincent.
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May 1523Hernán Cortés is appointed the first governor of the colony of New Spain (Mexico).
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c. 1530The first Spanish galleons come into operation.
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1532Francsico Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors arrive in South America.
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16 Nov 1532Battle of Cajamarca where the Inca leader Atahualpa is captured and held for ransom by Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro.
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15 Nov 1533Francisco Pizarro takes the Inca capital of Cuzco.
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1535Don Antonio de Mendoza is made the first viceroy of New Spain (Mexico and Central America).
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1543The Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru (the former Inca territory) is established.
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1555Captain-General Pedro Menendez de Avilés begins a system of large and escorted convoys for the Spanish treasure fleets.
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Jul 1555The French privateer Jacques de Sores brutally attacks Havana.
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1565 - 1815The Manila galleons each year take eastern trade goods from Manila to Acapulco (and return with American silver).
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1567 - 1568John Hawkins and Francis Drake lead an expedition to transport slaves from west Africa to the Spanish West Indies. The fleet is attacked at San Juan de Ulúa.
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1572 - 1573Francis Drake explores Panama and seizes a Spanish silver mule train.
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1573Spanish royal regulations are issued on town planning in Spanish America.
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Mar 1579Francis Drake captures the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (aka Cacafuego).
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1585 - 1587Sir Francis Drake attacks Spanish vessels and ports in the Spanish Main.
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Aug 1595John Hawkins and Francis Drake lead an unsuccessful expedition against Spanish ships and settlements in Panama and the Caribbean.
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1596Portobelo replaces Nombre de Dios as the chief Atlantic port in Panama.
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28 Jan 1596Sir Francis Drake dies of dysentery at Portobelo, Panama.
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1599Dutch ships begin to take salt from Araya on the coast of Venezuela.
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1620 - 1697Buccaneers operate in the Caribbean and attack both ports and ships along the Spanish Main.
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1620Buccaneers begin to camp and hunt illegally in the western part of Hispaniola (modern Haiti).
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1622The Nuestra Señora de Atocha Spanish treasure ship is wrecked in a storm off the Florida Keys.
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Sep 1628A Dutch force led by Admiral Hein captures the entire New Spain treasure fleet on its way to Havana.
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c. 1630Tortuga becomes a major buccaneer base.
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1642The French engineer Jean Le Vasseur builds a fortress on Tortuga.
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1657Edward D'Oyley, Governor of Jamaica, encourages buccaneers of several nationalities to make Port Royal their base.
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1664The buccaneer Henry Morgan attacks Villahermosa on the Spanish Main.
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1665The buccaneer Henry Morgan attacks Tabasco and Gran Granada on the Spanish Main.
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1667François L'Olonais leads a buccaneer force which attacks Venezuela on the Spanish Main.
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1667 - 1668François L'Olonais leads a buccaneer force which attacks Honduras on the Spanish Main.
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Jul 1668A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan attacks and captures Portobelo on the Spanish Main.
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Apr 1669A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan captures the port of Maracaibo. on the Spanish Main.
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Jan 1671A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan attacks and captures the port of Panama on the Spanish Main.
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Apr 1672The buccaneer Henry Morgan is arrested and sent to London for his unlawful attack on Panama on the Spanish Main.
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1674Sir Henry Morgan is appointed Lieutenant Governor of Port Royal.
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1680Bartholomew Sharp leads buccaneer raids on the Pacific coast of the Spanish Main.
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1681The Jamaican authorities prohibit piracy.
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1681The Nuestra Señora de Encarnación Spanish treasure ship is wrecked in a storm off the coast of Panama.
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1683Laurens De Graaf leads a buccaneer attack on Veracruz on the Spanish Main.
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1684The Buccaneers of America by Alexander Oliver Exquemelin is published in English.
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1684 - 1688Edward Davis leads buccaneer attacks on the Pacific coast of the Spanish Main.
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1697The conquest of the Maya Civilization completed by the Spanish conquistador Martín de Ursúa.
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1697The last great buccaneer operation captures Cartagena on the Spanish Main.
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1697The Peace of Ryswick signed between France, Spain, England, and the Netherlands effectively ends buccaneering in the Caribbean.
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1 Jan 1710The English privateer Woodes Rogers captures the Manila galleon Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación Disengaño.
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1739The Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada (Venezuela and Colombia) is established.
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1763The Treaty of Paris sees Spain cede Florida to Britain.
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1800Louisiana is ceded to France by the Spanish.