- South America
Cabral claims Brazil for Portugal
Pedro Alvares Cabral makes landfall on the coast near present-day Porto Seguro and claims the land for the Portuguese crown.
Era: Portuguese Colony: Sugar, Slavery, and Gold
Sources: Pedro Alvares Cabral · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Brazil · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- South America
The Wild Coast and El Dorado
Spanish and other navigators probe the rivers of the 'Wild Coast' in search of the golden kingdom of El Dorado, but find no empire to conquer.
Era: The First Peoples and the Land of Many Waters
Sources: Guyana — History (Colonialism, Independence, Culture) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Europe
Cabral reaches Brazil
A fleet under Pedro Alvares Cabral, en route to India, made landfall on the coast of Brazil and claimed it for the Portuguese crown.
Era: The Age of Discovery
Sources: Pedro Alvares Cabral · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Africa
Settlement of Príncipe
The smaller island of Príncipe was settled under a similar crown arrangement, extending Portuguese control over the archipelago.
Era: Empty islands and the first plantation society
Sources: History of São Tomé and Príncipe · Wikipedia
- Asia
Portuguese seize control of the coast
Portuguese naval expansion fortified Gulf ports to dominate the spice and pearl trade, beginning two centuries of European and Omani contest over the region's sea lanes.
Era: Islam, Julfar and the Maritime Trade
Sources: History of the United Arab Emirates · UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Persian Gulf States: Country Studies (United Arab Emirates) · Federal Research Division, U.S. Library of Congress
- North America
Spanish reach the isthmus
Rodrigo de Bastidas and then Christopher Columbus explore the Caribbean coast of the isthmus, opening the region to Spanish colonisation.
Era: Crossroads and Conquest
Sources: Panama: A Country Study · Library of Congress Country Studies, Panama · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Columbus reaches the Rich Coast
On his fourth voyage Columbus lands on the Caribbean coast; gifts of gold inspire the name Costa Rica, the Rich Coast.
Era: The Rich Coast: A Poor Colony
Sources: History of Costa Rica · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Columbus reaches Honduras
On his fourth voyage Christopher Columbus makes landfall on the Caribbean coast of Honduras.
Era: Conquest, Lempira, and Colonial Silver
Sources: Honduras: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Africa
Portuguese navigators sight the islands
Vasco da Gama's second voyage to India recorded the Amirantes group; further Portuguese sightings followed in the early 1500s, giving Europe its first knowledge of the archipelago.
Era: Empty Islands and Pirates
Sources: History of Seychelles · Wikipedia, Seychelles History — Timeline · SeyVillas Seychelles Travel Guide
- Africa
Portuguese occupy Sofala
The Portuguese seize Sofala and build a fort to capture the gold trade, but find the port in decline and shift their base to the Island of Mozambique.
Era: Da Gama and the Portuguese Seizure of the Coast
Sources: Mozambique · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of Mozambique · Wikipedia
- Asia
Arrival of the Portuguese
A Portuguese fleet reaches Colombo, opening more than a century of Portuguese control over Ceylon's coasts and its profitable cinnamon trade.
Era: European Coasts and the Kandyan Kingdom
Sources: Sri Lanka: The Portuguese in Sri Lanka (1505–1658) · Encyclopædia Britannica
- Africa
Portuguese intervention in the gold trade
Portuguese traders based at Sofala and on the Zambezi pressed into the interior, establishing fairs and interfering in Mutapa politics, steadily weakening the empire over the next century.
Era: Mutapa, Torwa and Rozvi
Sources: Zimbabwe: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mutapa Empire · Wikipedia
- Africa
- Asia
Albuquerque captures Muscat
The Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque stormed Muscat and other Omani coastal towns, beginning more than a century of Portuguese dominance over the coast.
Era: The Portuguese, Hormuz and the Yarubid Recovery
Sources: Oman: The early period · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ancient Oman: Archaeological Digs and Historical Discoveries in the Sultanate of Oman · Library of Congress
- North America
Ponce de León founds Caparra
Juan Ponce de León establishes the island's first Spanish settlement and becomes its first governor; the colony is soon moved to the islet of San Juan.
Era: The Spanish Colony and the Fortress City
Sources: Juan Ponce de León · Encyclopædia Britannica, Caparra, historical settlement · Encyclopædia Britannica
- North America
Sevilla la Nueva founded
Spain establishes its first permanent settlement on the north coast, beginning a colonial era that all but exterminates the Taino.
Era: Spanish Colony and English Conquest
Sources: Jamaica: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Spanish conquest begins
Diego Velazquez leads the conquest of Cuba, founding Baracoa as the first Spanish settlement; further towns follow within a few years.
Era: The Taino and the Spanish Conquest
Sources: Cuba: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Cuba · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Asia
Portuguese capture of Malacca
Afonso de Albuquerque seizes the trading city of Malacca, beginning sustained European involvement in the archipelago's spice trade.
Era: Portuguese and Dutch Colonialism and the VOC
Sources: Capture of Malacca (1511) · Wikipedia
- Asia
Portuguese capture of Malacca
Afonso de Albuquerque storms Malacca after a siege, ending the independent sultanate and beginning sustained European control of the strait and its trade.
Era: European Powers and the Making of British Malaya
Sources: Portuguese Malacca · World History Encyclopedia, Melaka Falls to the Portuguese (Research Starters: History) · EBSCO
- North America
Balboa sights the Pacific
Vasco Nunez de Balboa crosses the isthmus and becomes the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas, claiming it for Castile.
Era: Crossroads and Conquest
Sources: Vasco Nunez de Balboa · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Asia
Portuguese arrival and missions
Portuguese traders seeking sandalwood and Dominican missionaries reach Timor and the Solor archipelago, beginning Catholic conversion and a loose Portuguese presence.
Era: Portuguese Timor and the Divided Island
Sources: East Timor · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- South America
- South America
Solis reaches the Rio de la Plata
The Spanish navigator Juan Diaz de Solis explores the estuary and is killed near its eastern shore; finding no gold, Spain largely ignores the Banda Oriental for nearly two centuries.
Era: The Charrua and the Banda Oriental
Sources: Uruguay · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Cortes lands in Mexico
Hernan Cortes arrives on the Gulf coast and marches inland, allying with peoples opposed to Mexica rule.
Era: Spanish Conquest and New Spain
Sources: Hernan Cortes · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Battle of Tenochtitlan · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Europe
Conquest of the Aztec Empire
Hernán Cortés and allied forces overthrew the Aztec empire, a conquest that brought vast wealth to Spain alongside war, subjugation and a catastrophic collapse of Indigenous populations.
Era: The Catholic Monarchs and the Golden Age Empire
Sources: Spain · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
First Spanish contact
The expedition of Gil González Dávila reaches the Pacific coast and encounters the Nicarao, opening the way to Spanish conquest.
Era: Indigenous Peoples of the Isthmus
Sources: History of Nicaragua · Encyclopædia Britannica, Nicaragua · Encyclopædia Britannica
- North America
Alvarado's conquest begins
An expedition from Guatemala under Pedro de Alvarado enters the region, meeting fierce Pipil resistance west of the Lempa River as the Spanish conquest of the territory begins.
Era: Conquest and the Colonial Province
Sources: History of El Salvador · Encyclopaedia Britannica, El Salvador: The colonial period · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Conquest under Pedro de Alvarado
Alvarado invades from Mexico, defeats the K'iche', and burns their capital Q'umarkaj, beginning Spanish rule in Guatemala.
Era: Postclassic Kingdoms and Spanish Conquest
Sources: Pedro de Alvarado · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Guatemala: History (Postcolonial period and after) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Jacques Cartier explores the St. Lawrence
Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence and claimed the region for France, opening the way for later French interest in the fur trade and settlement.
Era: New France and the fur trade
Sources: Canada · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Samuel de Champlain · The Canadian Encyclopedia
- South America
Spanish founding of Quito
Sebastian de Benalcazar founds San Francisco de Quito on the ruins of the Inca city burned by Rumiñahui, establishing Spanish rule over the highlands.
Era: Conquest, Colony and the Quito School
Sources: Sebastian de Benalcazar · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Viceroyalty of New Spain established
Spain formalises colonial government under a viceroy, with Mexico City as the capital of a vast realm.
Era: Spanish Conquest and New Spain
Sources: Hernan Cortes · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- South America
Almagro's expedition turns back
Diego de Almagro leads the first Spanish entry into Chile as far as the Maule River; finding no gold or empire, the expedition returns to Peru, but the Spanish first clash with the Araucanians.
Era: Indigenous Peoples and the World of Rapa Nui
Sources: Diego de Almagro · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of Chile · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- South America
Spanish conquest of Charcas
Spanish forces subdue the highlands of Upper Peru, organising them as the Audiencia of Charcas within the Viceroyalty of Peru.
Era: Conquest, the Silver of Potosi, and Charcas
Sources: Bolivia: Early period · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Bolivia: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- South America
Founding of Bogota
Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada founds Santa Fe de Bogota after subduing the Muisca, establishing the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada.
Era: Conquest and the Viceroyalty of New Granada
Sources: History of Colombia · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Bogota · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- South America
- South America
Viceroyalty of Peru established
Spain creates the Viceroyalty of Peru, second of its American viceroyalties, governing most of Spanish South America from Lima for nearly three centuries.
Era: Conquest and the Viceroyalty of Peru
Sources: Viceroyalty of Peru · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Santiago de los Caballeros re-founded
After a flood destroys the earlier capital, the colonial seat of the Captaincy General is established at present-day Antigua Guatemala.
Era: Postclassic Kingdoms and Spanish Conquest
Sources: Antigua Guatemala · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Antigua Guatemala · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- South America
Conquest reaches the Biobio
Valdivia extends Spanish rule south of the Biobio and founds Concepcion, pushing into the Mapuche heartland and igniting lasting resistance.
Era: Conquest, Santiago, and the Long Arauco War
Sources: Pedro de Valdivia · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Araucanian wars · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
The fortifications of Havana
Construction of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza and, later, the Morro and La Cabana fortresses makes Havana the fortified key to the Indies.
Era: Spanish Colony: Havana, Sugar, and Slavery
Sources: Old Havana and its Fortification System · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- North America
Founding of Cartago
The Spanish establish Cartago in the Central Valley as the colonial capital, which it remains until 1823.
Era: The Rich Coast: A Poor Colony
Sources: History of Costa Rica · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cartago · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Asia
Legazpi founds the first Spanish settlement at Cebu
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi establishes Spain's first permanent settlement in the islands at Cebu, beginning more than three centuries of Spanish colonial rule.
Era: Spanish Colonisation, Catholicism and the Galleon Trade
Sources: Philippines: The Spanish period (Legazpi; Manila; the Church) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Oceania
Mendaña reaches and names the islands
Álvaro de Mendaña becomes the first European to reach the archipelago; rumoured gold leads to the name 'Solomon Islands' after the biblical king.
Era: Mendaña and the King's Gold
Sources: History of Solomon Islands · Encyclopædia Britannica, Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira · Encyclopædia Britannica
- Asia
Founding of Manila
Legazpi establishes Manila as the capital of the Spanish colony; by the century's end most lowland Luzon and the Visayas are under Spanish control.
Era: Spanish Colonisation, Catholicism and the Galleon Trade
Sources: Philippines: The Spanish period (Legazpi; Manila; the Church) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Africa
Portuguese found Luanda
Paulo Dias de Novais established São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda on the Angolan coast, creating the base from which Portuguese power and the slave trade would expand.
Era: Luanda, Queen Njinga and the Atlantic slave trade
Sources: Luanda, Angola (1576– ) · BlackPast.org, Portuguese Angola · Wikipedia, Portuguese Angola · World History Encyclopedia
- South America
First recorded sighting
The English navigator John Davis is credited with the first recorded European sighting of the uninhabited islands; the territory marks Falklands Day on 14 August in commemoration.
Era: Empty Shores and Competing Claims
Sources: Our History · Falkland Islands Government, Falkland Islands — History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North America
Spain founds San José de Oruña
Antonio de Berrio took possession of Trinidad and founded San José de Oruña (St Joseph), establishing the first effective Spanish settlement on an island the crown had claimed but long neglected.
Era: Spanish neglect and the Cédula de Población
Sources: Trinidad and Tobago: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, T&T History Timeline · National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago
- Africa
Portuguese build Fort Jesus
The Portuguese construct Fort Jesus at Mombasa to a Renaissance design by Giovanni Battista Cairati, anchoring their control of the coast and the Indian Ocean trade routes.
Era: Portuguese and Omani Rule on the Coast
Sources: Fort Jesus, Mombasa · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Fort Jesus Museum · National Museums of Kenya
- Oceania
Mendaña's failed colony
A second Spanish expedition attempts a settlement in the Santa Cruz islands but collapses amid disease and conflict; Mendaña dies there.
Era: Mendaña and the King's Gold
Sources: Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira · Encyclopædia Britannica, History of Solomon Islands · Encyclopædia Britannica
- Africa
The Dutch name the island Mauritius
Admiral Wybrand van Warwijck claims the island and names it for Maurice of Nassau, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic.
Era: The Dutch & the Dodo
Sources: Mauritius · Encyclopædia Britannica, Explore Mauritius — Republic of Mauritius · Government of Mauritius, Mauritius · Wikipedia
Colonisation in the 16th century
Every event in the Terralore archive tagged colonisation — the establishment, administration and ending of colonial rule, narrowed to the 16th century — 49 of them, drawn from 40 nations, running from 1500 to 1598. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.
- Events
- 49
- Nations
- 40
- Earliest
- 1500
- Latest
- 1598
- North America
- 17
- South America
- 12
- Africa
- 8
- Asia
- 8
- Europe
- 2
- Oceania
- 2
Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.