Christopher Columbus’s expedition, sailing for the Spanish Crown, made landfall in the Caribbean on an island he called San Salvador (Guanahaní). This event opened sustained Spanish exploration and claims in the Americas.
Pope Alexander VI issued Inter caetera, a papal bull establishing a line of demarcation and granting Spain rights to lands to the west, helping frame early legal-religious justifications for Spanish expansion.
Castile (Spain) and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, adjusting the line of demarcation to reduce conflict over overseas expansion and shaping the boundaries of Iberian claims in the Americas.
After a prolonged siege, the Mexica (Aztec) capital Tenochtitlan fell to Hernán Cortés and allied Indigenous forces. This marked a decisive turning point in the creation of New Spain.
Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Zaragoza, defining their spheres of influence in Asia (notably the Spice Islands). It complemented Tordesillas by addressing disputes created by Pacific crossings and global expansion.
Francisco Pizarro’s force seized Atahualpa at Cajamarca, a pivotal event that destabilized the Inca polity and enabled rapid Spanish advances in the Andes.
Spain established the Viceroyalty of New Spain to govern vast territories in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean (and later the Philippines), institutionalizing colonial administration and revenue collection.
Francisco Pizarro founded Lima (Ciudad de los Reyes). It became the central administrative and commercial hub for Spanish South America and later the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru.
Charles V issued the New Laws to limit abuses in the encomienda system and improve the legal status and treatment of Indigenous peoples—an important, if contested, reform effort in Spanish imperial governance.
The Spanish Crown created the Viceroyalty of Peru, reorganizing governance over much of Spanish South America from Lima and strengthening imperial control over Andean resources and labor.
The mining town of Potosí was founded after the discovery of rich silver deposits at Cerro Rico. Its output became central to Spanish imperial finance and global bullion flows.
A coordinated uprising led by Popé and many Pueblo communities drove Spanish colonists from New Mexico for about 12 years, demonstrating the limits of Spanish control on the northern frontier.
To improve administration and defense in northern South America, Spain created the Viceroyalty of New Granada (later suppressed and reestablished), shifting oversight away from Lima for parts of the region.
Spain created the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, separating territories from the Viceroyalty of Peru to strengthen defense and administration in the south and to redirect commerce through Buenos Aires.
The capture of corregidor Antonio de Arriaga marked the start of the Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II, a massive anti-colonial uprising linked to grievances over Bourbon-era taxation and labor demands.
Miguel Hidalgo’s Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) called for rebellion against Spanish colonial rule, initiating the Mexican War of Independence and accelerating the unraveling of New Spain.
Peruvian independence was declared in Lima as José de San Martín entered the city, a major political break that set the stage for final military campaigns against remaining royalist power in the Andes.
Agustín de Iturbide and Juan O’Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, in which Spanish authorities in Mexico accepted Mexican independence terms (though Spain later rejected the treaty), effectively ending New Spain’s colonial regime.
Patriot forces under Antonio José de Sucre defeated the royalist army at Ayacucho, forcing a capitulation that broke Spanish military power in mainland South America and secured Peruvian independence.
Spanish Empire in the Americas (1492–1824)
