In 1492, Christopher Columbus, together with brothers Martin and Vicente Pizon, sailed west from
in Spain. After sailing for five weeks, they reached the shores of the
.
In 1496, Christopher's brother Diego secured the first Spanish colony at
in present-day Dominican Republic. In 1515, the Spanish completed the conquest of
.
In 1519, Hernan Cortes landed on the coast of
with 600 men, 16 horses and about 20 guns. The small force captured Montezuma, ruler of the mighty
empire in his palace at
.
In 1530, Francisco Pizzaro sailed from
to conquer
. In 1532, Pizzaro led his tiny force of 168 men ambushed and massacred the
court in Cajamarca, capturing Atahualpa alive.
In 1533, the Spanish captured and sacked
, a city located high in the
. In 1526,
sieged the city that lasted a year. The siege ended with the Spanish gaining full control of the country.
In 1548,
was founded on the trade route between
and the newly discovered silver mines at
. From 1550, Spanish galleons assembled each year at
to deliver the precious metals to Spain.
In 1571, the Spanish governor general, Legazpi, made his capital at
, and named the surrounding islands the
after
.
