1492-1607

Terms:
 * Columbus:** In 1492, left Spain for the West Indies, discovered the Americas
 * Treaty of Tordesillas:** 1494, Treaty between Spain and Portugal that was created by the Pope. It said that Spain could colonize the New World while Portugal could colonize Brazil and Africa.
 * Vasco de Nunez de Balboa:** Found the Pacific Ocean in 1513 by way of Panama.
 * Hernan Cortes:** Conquered the Aztec Empire for gold and silver in 1519.
 * Ferdinand Magellan:** In1519 he took a three year trip around the world past the tip of South America.
 * Francisco Pizarro:** Conquered the Incan Empire in the 1530's for silver.
 * Juan Ponce De Leon:** In 1513, he explored the East coast of Florida. Wanted to find the fountain of youth.
 * Panfilo de Narvaez:** He explored the Western coast of Florida and the Gulf Of Mexico in the 1520's.
 * Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca:** Wandered around after being stranded after an expedition went wrong and eventually arrived in Mexico City.
 * Hernando de Soto:** From 1539-1543 he explored Florida up to the Carolinas and then west towards the Mississippi river.
 * Francisco Vasquez de Coronado:** From 1539-1543 he explored Kansas and the Grand Canyon.
 * Conquistadores:** All of the Spanish explorers who took land forcefully in the name of the King and Queen. (the explorers above)
 * Requerimiento:** A list of requirements that were posted in land taken by the conquistadors that stated the conquered people must submit to Spanish rule or be killed.
 * Bartolome de Las Casas:** A dominican missionary who reported the Spanish cruelties that were carried out on the native people in Hispaniola.
 * Sir Walter Raleigh:** A favorite of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Walter Raleigh helped create the English settlement on Roanoke Island in 1585.
 * Roanoke Island:** After initially failing in 1585, the island was settled again in 1587 and when supply ships arrived in 1590, the settlers had dissappeared without a trace.

This time period is mainly about the conquests and exploration by the Spanish in the New World. One of the mainstays of this time period was the subjugation of the native people wherever the Conquistadors went. At the end of the time period, the English began to lay down roots in the New World with their settlement on Roanoke Island. This set up the British for the colonization of Eastern North America and eventually the creation of the United States.