← All atlas views

The Americas

1000 CE – 1900 CE

The Americas from the precontact civilizations through colonization to independence — North, Central, and South together.

2740 events · 59 people · 3 eras

Key events

1. Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire1519 CE
   16th-century Spanish invasion of Mesoamerica
2. La Noche Triste1520 CE
   La Noche Triste, officially called in Mexico Victorious Night, was an important event during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, where Hernán Cortés and his army of Spanish conquistadors, including their native allies were driven out of the Mexica capital, Tenochtitlan.
3. American Revolution1763 CE
   revolution establishing the United States of America
4. Battle of Bunker Hill1775 CE
   The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved. It was the original objective of both the colonial and British troops, though the majority of combat took place on the adjacent hill, which became known as Breed's Hill.
5. Siege of Yorktown1781 CE
   The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, took place in 1781 and was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Marquis de Lafayette and French Army troops, led by Comte de Rochambeau, and a French Navy force commanded by the Comte de Grasse, defeating the British Army commanded by British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.
6. Haitian Revolution1804 CE
   1791 slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue
7. Adams–Onís Treaty1821 CE
   Treaty between the United States and Spain, ceding Florida to the U.S. (1819)
8. Battle of the Alamo1836 CE
   1836 major battle of the Texas Revolution
9. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo1848 CE
   peace treaty that concludes Mexican-American War of 1846-1848
10. Gadsden Purchase1853 CE
    The Gadsden Purchase, also known as the Treaty of Mesilla, is a 29,640-square-mile (76,800 km2) region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico. The first draft was signed on December 31, 1853, by James Gadsden, US Minister to Mexico, and by Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico. The treaty took effect on June 8, 1854.
11. Battle of Fort Sumter1861 CE
    The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the fort by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War.
12. Second Battle of Bull Run1862 CE
    The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run fought on July 21, 1861, on the same ground.

Notable people

• George Washington1732 CE – 1799 CE
• Pontiac1720 CE – 1769 CE
• Benjamin West1738 CE – 1820 CE
• Horatio Gates1727 CE – 1806 CE
• Thomas Gage1719 CE – 1787 CE
• Louis-Joseph de Montcalm1712 CE – 1759 CE
• Edward Braddock1695 CE – 1755 CE
• Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet1715 CE – 1774 CE
• Edward Boscawen1711 CE – 1761 CE
• Sepé Tiaraju1723 CE – 1756 CE
• Joseph Broussard1702 CE – 1765 CE
• Robert Monckton1726 CE – 1782 CE

Eras spanning this view

Related atlas views

• Silicon Valley

Explore more of the atlas

• China
• Tang Dynasty China
• Japan
• Heian Japan
• East Asia
• India

Want the background? Read the guides on what was happening at the same moment in history.

Events from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA); boundaries from OpenHistoricalMap (ODbL). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].