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1490 CE
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1810 CE
1492 CE - 1493 CE: First Voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World in three ships in an attempt to establish maritime trade routes to the East.
1494 CE: A Spanish settlement is founded at La Isabela on the island of Hispaniola.
1494 CE: Portugal and Spain sign the Treaty of Tordesillas which divides the world into two spheres of influence.
1498 CE: The Spanish settlement of Santo Domingo on Hispaniola is founded.
1508 CE: The Spanish first settle on Puerto Rico.
1510 CE: The Spanish found Nombre de Dios in Panama.
1511 CE: The Spanish first settle on Cuba.
1519 CE: The Spanish found the city of Panama.
1519 CE: Veracruz, Mexico is founded by Hernán Cortés.
1519 CE: Motecuhzoma II receives Hernán Cortés at the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
1520 CE - 1789 CE: Spanish treasure fleets transport the riches of the Americas to Spain.
1521 CE: The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan falls into the hands of Spanish forces led by Hernán Cortés.
1522 CE: Jean de Fleury (aka Florin) captures three Spanish treasure ships off Cape Vincent.
1523 CE: Hernán Cortés is appointed the first governor of the colony of New Spain (Mexico).
1530 CE: The first Spanish galleons come into operation.
1532 CE: Francsico Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors arrive in South America.
1532 CE: Battle of Cajamarca where the Inca leader Atahualpa is captured and held for ransom by Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro.
1533 CE: Francisco Pizarro takes the Inca capital of Cuzco.
1535 CE: Don Antonio de Mendoza is made the first viceroy of New Spain (Mexico and Central America).
1543 CE: The Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru (the former Inca territory) is established.
1555 CE: Captain-General Pedro Menendez de Avilés begins a system of large and escorted convoys for the Spanish treasure fleets.
1555 CE: The French privateer Jacques de Sores brutally attacks Havana.
1565 CE - 1815 CE: The Manila galleons each year take eastern trade goods from Manila to Acapulco (and return with American silver).
1567 CE - 1568 CE: John 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.
1572 CE - 1573 CE: Francis Drake explores Panama and seizes a Spanish silver mule train.
1573 CE: Spanish royal regulations are issued on town planning in Spanish America.
1579 CE: Francis Drake captures the Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (aka Cacafuego).
1585 CE - 1587 CE: Sir Francis Drake attacks Spanish vessels and ports in the Spanish Main.
1595 CE: John Hawkins and Francis Drake lead an unsuccessful expedition against Spanish ships and settlements in Panama and the Caribbean.
1596 CE: Portobelo replaces Nombre de Dios as the chief Atlantic port in Panama.
1596 CE: Sir Francis Drake dies of dysentery at Portobelo, Panama.
1599 CE: Dutch ships begin to take salt from Araya on the coast of Venezuela.
1620 CE - 1697 CE: Buccaneers operate in the Caribbean and attack both ports and ships along the Spanish Main.
1620 CE: Buccaneers begin to camp and hunt illegally in the western part of Hispaniola (modern Haiti).
1622 CE: The Nuestra Señora de Atocha Spanish treasure ship is wrecked in a storm off the Florida Keys.
1628 CE: A Dutch force led by Admiral Hein captures the entire New Spain treasure fleet on its way to Havana.
1630 CE: Tortuga becomes a major buccaneer base.
1642 CE: The French engineer Jean Le Vasseur builds a fortress on Tortuga.
1657 CE: Edward D'Oyley, Governor of Jamaica, encourages buccaneers of several nationalities to make Port Royal their base.
1664 CE: The buccaneer Henry Morgan attacks Villahermosa on the Spanish Main.
1665 CE: The buccaneer Henry Morgan attacks Tabasco and Gran Granada on the Spanish Main.
1667 CE: François L'Olonais leads a buccaneer force which attacks Venezuela on the Spanish Main.
1667 CE - 1668 CE: François L'Olonais leads a buccaneer force which attacks Honduras on the Spanish Main.
1668 CE: A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan attacks and captures Portobelo on the Spanish Main.
1669 CE: A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan captures the port of Maracaibo. on the Spanish Main.
1671 CE: A buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan attacks and captures the port of Panama on the Spanish Main.
1672 CE: The buccaneer Henry Morgan is arrested and sent to London for his unlawful attack on Panama on the Spanish Main.
1674 CE: Sir Henry Morgan is appointed Lieutenant Governor of Port Royal.
1680 CE: Bartholomew Sharp leads buccaneer raids on the Pacific coast of the Spanish Main.
1681 CE: The Jamaican authorities prohibit piracy.
1681 CE: The Nuestra Señora de Encarnación Spanish treasure ship is wrecked in a storm off the coast of Panama.
1683 CE: Laurens De Graaf leads a buccaneer attack on Veracruz on the Spanish Main.
1684 CE: The Buccaneers of America by Alexander Oliver Exquemelin is published in English.
1684 CE - 1688 CE: Edward Davis leads buccaneer attacks on the Pacific coast of the Spanish Main.
1697 CE: The conquest of the Maya Civilization completed by the Spanish conquistador Martín de Ursúa.
1697 CE: The last great buccaneer operation captures Cartagena on the Spanish Main.
1697 CE: The Peace of Ryswick signed between France, Spain, England, and the Netherlands effectively ends buccaneering in the Caribbean.
1710 CE: The English privateer Woodes Rogers captures the Manila galleon Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación Disengaño.
1739 CE: The Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada (Venezuela and Colombia) is established.
1763 CE: The Treaty of Paris sees Spain cede Florida to Britain.
1800 CE: Louisiana is ceded to France by the Spanish.