| 3000-1800 BC | The oldest civilization in the Americas is established: The Norte Chico (Caral-Supe) in the region of the same name in present day Peru |
| 2000 BC-900 AD | Maya civilization in the Guatemala region |
| 1500 BC | Zapotec Civilization, Mexico |
| 1200-400 BC | Olmec Civilization, Mesoamerica |
| 900-300 BC | Chavín Civilization, Perú |
| 914 AD | In Guatemala the Post-classic cultural period of the Maya signifies collapse |
| 1000-1533 AD | Purépecha Civilization, (Tarascan) Michoacán, México |
| 1319-1350 AD | In Mexico the construction of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco begins |
| 1420 AD | In Mexico the formation of the Triple Alliance, the base of the Aztec expansion, begins |
| 1440 AD | In Peru the expansion of the Inca empire |
| 1487 AD | In Mexico the dedication of the Grand Temple of Tenochtitlan is done |
| 1492 | Colombus' first trip to the Americas |
| 1493 | Colombus' second trip results in the first colony on the island of Hispaniola |
| 1496 | Santo Domingo is founded in Hispaniola, the first European city in the Americas |
| 1498 | Colombus' third trip results in the first view by Europeans - with certainty - of the South American coast |
| 1500 | Brazil's Discovery on the 26th of January by the Spaniard Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. Brazilian historiography maintains that the discoverer was the Portuguese sailor Pedro Álvarez Cabrál. |
| 1502-1504 | Colombus' fourth trip results in the exploration of the Central American coast |
| 1506 | Death of Christopher Columbus |
| 1508 | Juan Ponce de León conquers Puerto Rico; Juan de Esquivel takes Jamaica; and, Alonso de Hojeda heads up an expedition to the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. |
| 1511 | Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar conquers Cuba |
| 1513 | Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain |
| 1516 | Spanish arrive in Uruguay |
| 1516-1518 | Spanish expedition for reconnaissance of east coast of Mexico |
| 1519 | Founding of the cities Panama and Veracruz |
| 1518-1521 | In México Hernán Cortés conquers the Aztecs in the name of Spain |
| 1523 | In Guatemala the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado defeats the natives of the highlands |
| 1528-1530 | In Guatemala Pedro de Alvarado conquers the rest of the Maya |
| 1530 | In Spain Cortés receives the title of Marquis of the Oaxaca Valley |
| 1531 | In Ecuador the Spanish arrive under command of Francisco Pizarro |
| 1531-1536 | In Mexico they discover the first deposits of silver; importation of pedal sewing machines |
| 1532 | In Ecuador, with new reinforcements, Pizarro confronts the Inca and their leader Atahualpa. The battle of Cajamarca (in Perú) resulted in Atahualpa being taken hostage. |
| 1533 | In Peru Atahualpa is assassinated. Pizarro captures Cuzco. |
| 1534 | The city of San Francisco de Quito is established on top of the ruins of the Inca capital in Ecuador |
| 1538 | In Peru Francisco Pizarro conquers the Inca in the name of Spain. |
| 1541 | The founding of Santa Fé de Bogotá in Colombia |
| 1546 | The founding of Santiago in Chile |
| 1551 | In Mexico, the first grammar of the Nahuatl language produced by Andrés de Olmos |
| 1555 | In Brazil, France establishes a colony (France Antarctique) in the place where Rio de Janeiro is today |
| 1580 | In Peru and Mexico the first universities were established in Lima and Mexico City. |
| 1595 | In Puerto Rico the English pirate Francis Drake takes over the city of San Juan. |
| 1598 | In Puerto Rico the British navy invades but abandons the island in six months. |
| 1606 | In Argentina, the second founding of Buenos Aires by Juan de Garay; in Bolivia, the silver rush in Oruro began |
| 1610 | In Paraguay, the first Jesuit missions among the Guaraní occur |
| 1624 | First permanent Spanish colony founded in Uruguay: Soriano sobre el Río Negro |
| 1625 | The Dutch attack San Juan and set fire to the city in Puerto Rico |
| 1641 | Earthquake of San Bernabé destroys the greater part of Carácas and adjacent towns in Venezuela |
| 1674 | In French Guiana the Crown of France takes control (Equinoctial France), naming a Governor and transforming the area into a department of France, capital Cayenne |
| 1679-1693 | Uprising of the Pueblo natives in Mexico |
| 1730 | Uprising headed by mestizos in Cochabamba in Bolivia |
| 1746 | In Mexico our lady of Guadalupe was proclaimed the Patroness of New Spain |
| 1762-1763 | English occupation of Cuba |
| 1765 | Uprising in Quito against increasing fiscal pressure in Ecuador |
