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1530-1539
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1532 - Four men associated with the original Narveaz expedition attempt to reach posts of the Spanish Empire in Mexico. These men were Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, and a slave, Estevanico. They became the first men from Europe and Africa to enter the American west, traveling across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. July 1536 - Survivors of the Narveaz expedition reach fellow Spaniards near Sinaloa, Mexico. May 28, 1539 - Hernando de Soto lands in Florida with nine ships and six hundred and twenty men at Shaw's Point in today's Bradenton, Florida, and begins to explore the interior of the Americas. They explored the western coast of Florida and encamped during the winter at Anhaica, in Apalachee territory. Picture below, Hernando De Soto riding into an Indian camp in Florida on horse. Painting, entitled Discovery of the Mississippi, by William H. Powell, 1847, is located in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. |
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1540-1549
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| February 23, 1540 -
Exploration of the
southwest and western United States to California by European
expeditions begins when Fernando Vasquez de Coronado departs
Compostela, in present day Mexico, looking to conquer the
Seven Cities of Gold. The two year expedition took
him into
the lands of the United States, into New Mexico and to the Grand
Canyon. The expedition included 335 Spanish, 4
monks, and over
1,000 natives. During one scouting party, members of the
expedition became the first Europeans to discover the Grand Canyon. 1540-1541 - The first war between native Americans and Europeans in the southwest occurs between troops of Coronado and the Tiwa Indians. The Tiguex war was waged near Bernalillo, New Mexico against the dozen pueblos of the tribe on the American and Mexican sides of the Rio Grande River. 1540 - The de Soto expedition continues into Georgia in search for gold and a passage west. He would proceed into the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. An ambush in Mabila in northern Alabama, which may have been precipitated by actions of the expedition, by the Mabilian Indian tribe, resulted in twenty Spanish explorer deaths and the demise of thousands of Indian warriors. De Soto burned the city. He would later winter near Tupelo, Mississippi. 1541 - The Coronado expedition continues to search for the city of Quivara and traverses the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma until their final destination near Lyons, Kansas. At this time, they were only a few hundred miles from the exploration by de Soto. May 8, 1541 - After a Chicasaw raid earlier in the year, de Soto's expedition was in dire shape, however, they pushed forward, reaching the Mississippi River and becoming the first documented Europeans to witness it. Hernando de Soto led his expeditionary force across the Mississippi River and would explore Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. This expedition lay claims to these territories for the Spanish. De Soto would die early in 1542. |
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1550-1559
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| 1550-1551 - A debate over
the treatment and status of Indians in the New World was held in
Valladolid, Spain. The Vallodolid debate pitted the Bishop of
Chiapas, who stated that the American Indian was a free man deserving
equal treatment to European colonists per theology. The
opposite
viewpoint, that Indians were natural slaves, was debated by a fellow
Dominican, using claims of theology as well as natural law. |
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1560-1569
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| 1564-1565 - A French
colony is attempted in Florida by Rene de Laudonniere. It is
located along the St. John's River, but is short-lived with expulsion
by the Spanish holding its fate. 1564-1565 - The first known painting of American Indians by European colonists is made by French artist Jacques le Moyne. September 8, 1565 - Spanish explorer Don Pedro de Menendez de Avile's, a Spanish admiral. founds St. Augustine, Florida. It is the first permanent settlement in the United States and serves as a military outpost and base for Catholic missionary settlements. Below, drawing of St. Augustine's public square three centuries later. Source: Library of Congress Photographic archives.
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1570-1579
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| 1579 - Francis Drake claims the lands of California for Great Britain and Queen Elizabeth I. Drake is on his voyage around the world in the ship, the Golden Hand. | |||||||||||||||||||
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1580-1589
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1590-1599
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| 1590 - John White's return trip to the Roanoke Island Colony finds no signs of the colonists, beyond the words CROATOAN and CRO carved into tree trunks. The fate of its people is unknown to this date, and is often referred to as the "Lost Colony of Roanoke Island." | |||||||||||||||||||
Historic Travel Tip
America's Best
History Historic Travel Tip
Much of America's best history takes in the beauty and nature of our national parks. From the first park in Yellowstone, from the coast of Maine to the shores of Hawaii Volcanoes, check out the history of the USA as made by our land.
Pre-Revolution Timeline
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Century Timeline of Pre-Revolution America 1400's |
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