Updated September 13, 2021 |
Infoplease Staff
Table of contents
Timeline: PRE-COLONIAL - Before 1600
Read about major events in U.S. History before 1600, including the explorations of Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de León.
12,000
B.C.
- North American Indian cultures flourish.
A.D.
1000
- Norse seaman Leif Ericsson lands in Newfoundland, which he calls Vinland.
1492
October 12
- Christopher Columbus, financed by Spain, makes the first of four voyages to the New World. He lands in the Bahamas.
Christopher Columbus
1513
- Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León lands on the coast of Florida.
1565
- Saint Augustine, Florida, settled by the Spanish, becomes the first permanent European colony in North America.
