Epidemics, Slavery, Massacres, and Indigenous Resistance 1492-1599
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1492
Columbus makes landfall
Columbus makes landfall on Guanahani (Caribbean name; Columbus names it San Salvador) in the Caribbean...Read More
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1493
Doctrine of Discovery provides rationale for colonization
On May 4, Pope Alexander VI of the Roman Catholic Church issues “Inter Caetera,” a...Read More
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1493
Spanish monarchy supports Columbus’ second voyage for gold and slaves
Queen Isabella and the King of Spain agree to supply Columbus with 17 ships, 1,200...Read More
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1493+
Disease decimates island populations
Post-Columbus contact, measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, and other diseases kill Natives by the hundreds of...Read More
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1493
Spanish colonizers enslave the Taino
In Haiti and the Dominican Republic (which they name Hispaniola), Spanish colonists force Taino people...Read More
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1495
Columbus enslaves the Arawak and commits genocide
Columbus and his men round up Arawak men, women, and children and enclose 550 of...Read More
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1500
Spanish Monarchy issue a royal decree to make Indians of the New World “vassals of the Crown.”
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1500+
Arawak resistance and mass suicides
Facing extermination, the Arawak organize and attempt to fight back against the Spaniards. Overwhelmed by...Read More
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1500+
Native slave trade specifically targets women and children
In contrast to the African slave trade, which consisted mostly of adult males, Indian enslavement...Read More
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1500-1501
Inuit of Greenland are kidnapped for the Lisbon slave market
Portuguese invader Gaspar Corte-Real abducts 50 Inuit of the northeast Atlantic Coast and takes them...Read More
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1500-1542
Encomienda system of communal slavery and rise of Mestizo
Under Spain during this period, more than 2,500 Natives are shipped to the Iberian Peninsula...Read More
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1501-1503
English fishermen launch a slave trade business
Off the cost of Maine, English fishermen abduct Abenaki and Passamaquoddy Indians for slave markets....Read More
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1508-1511
Genocide in the West Indies
The Caribbean population of the Lesser Antilles is mostly exterminated (Nies, 1996).
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1512-1513
Spain issues requerimiento and Laws of Burgos, demanding subjugation
The Laws of Burgos are the first legal code in the Americas, directing Spaniards to...Read More
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1513
Calusa of Florida drive Ponce de Leon away
Ponce de Leon accompanies Columbus on his second voyage and by the time they arrive...Read More
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1519+
"Virgin-soil" epidemics devastate and depopulate Native communities
European-induced epidemics ravage Native tribes in Florida, the Carolinas, and Virginia, including smallpox, bubonic plague,...Read More
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1520
Guarocuya leads 14-year Arawak rebellion and resistance
On Hispaniola, Guarocuya, an Arawak resistance fighter, is eventually granted land by the Spanish without...Read More
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1521
Calusa chief outwits and kills Ponce de Leon
A Calusa chief tricks Ponce de Leon into building a settlement, only to attack it...Read More
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1522
Native slave rebellion in Hispaniola
A large-scale Native slave rebellion takes place against Spaniards.
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1528
Timucua of Florida drive Spanish invaders away
The Timucua drive off 400 Spanish settlers who attempt to land in Tampa Bay to...Read More
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1531
Yaqui of northern Mexico drive away Spanish slave traders
Nuno de Guzman seeks Native slaves in northern Mexico, but the Yaqui attack and drive...Read More
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1537
Native slaves in Hispaniola organize another rebellion against Spanish slave owners
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1539
Spain wages war against southeastern Native peoples
The Spanish launch a four-year military campaign under de Soto to secure slaves and maraud...Read More
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1539
De Soto, in quest for slaves and gold, is driven from southeastern tribal lands
Timucua, Appalachia, Coosa, Mobile, Natchez, Tonkawa, Choctaw, and other southeastern tribal groups fight de Soto’s...Read More
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1539
Napituca Massacre
De Soto, after defeating Timucuan warriors at the village of Napituca, conducts a mass execution....Read More
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1540
Mississippian woman chief of Cofitachequi outwits de Soto
While de Soto is among the Apalachee Indians in Florida, he hears of a kingdom...Read More
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1540
Mabila Massacre
When de Soto arrives at Atahachi’s village plaza, he is greeted by Choctaw Chief Tuscaloosa...Read More
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1541-1542
Tiguex Massacres (New Mexico)
Spaniards seize the land, houses, food, and clothing of the Tiguex villagers and rape their...Read More
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1542
De Soto dies/is killed?
Textbooks note that de Soto suddenly becomes ill and dies. However, Choctaw and Chickasaw tribal...Read More
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1564
Disease nearly annihilates the Timucua
An unidentified disease sweeps through the barrier islands, Georgia, and Florida, nearly annihilating the Timucua....Read More
