| 400 B.C. |
Mayan culture of Central America begins. |
| A.D. 1300 |
Incas establish capital at Cuzco. |
| 1325 |
Aztecs found their capital city, Tenochtitlán. |
| 1492 |
Christopher Columbus sails to America in search of the Indies. |
| 1521 |
The Spanish capture Tenochtitlán, conquering the Aztecs. |
| 1524 |
The Spanish capture the Mayan city of Chichén Itzá. |
| 1532 |
The Spanish conquer the Incas. |
| 1620 |
Pilgrims settle at Plymouth, Massachusetts. |
| 1626 |
The Dutch buy Manhattan Island from the Native Americans. |
| 1763 |
Ottawa chief Pontiac attacks nine forts; this becomes known as Pontiac’s Rebellion. |
| 1766 |
A peace treaty ends Pontiac’s rebellion. |
| 1776 |
The United States of America wins its independence from England. |
| 1804 |
The U.S. government enacts the Louisiana Territory Act, which tries to move southeastern Indians west of the Mississippi River. |
| 1812 |
The War of 1812 begins; most Indians side with the British. |
| 1813–14 |
The Creeks declare war on the United States; when the war ends the tribe loses 22 million acres of territory to the U.S. government. |
| 1821 |
Sequoyah establishes the Cherokee alphabet. |
| 1830 |
The U.S. government passes the Indian Removal Act; during the next eight year, Native Americans of the southeast are moved over the “Trail of Tears” to Oklahoma. |
| 1867 |
The United States buys Alaska. |
| 1876 |
On June 25, George A. Custer and his troops are killed by Sioux and Cheyene warriors at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. |
| 1890 |
In December, the Seventh Cavalry kills 200 Sioux men, women, and children at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. |
| 1907 |
Stewart Culin publishes a study of Native American games for the Smithsonian Institution. |
| 2013 |
According to recent census estimates, there are more than 5.2 million Native Americans living in the United States and Canada. |