The Aztec Empire had fallen. 1914 - Spain remains neutral as World War I begins. He is best known for leading an expedition across the narrow isthmus of Panama, and reaching the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European to see this large body of water. 1814 - The Allies win the Peninsular War and Spain is free of French rule. 1996 - Jose Maria Aznar becomes Prime Minister of Spain. During the Spanish retreat, Montezuma was killed and much of the plunder the Spanish had taken was lost. 1139 - The Kingdom of Portugal is first established on the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula. When Cortés learned that a Spanish force from Cuba led by Pánfilo Narváez were arriving to strip him of his command and arrest him for disobeying orders, Cortés fled the city. 500 - The Visigoths take over much of Spain. 1976 - Spain begins a transition to a democracy. He sent more expeditions out into new areas, including what is present-day Honduras. Cortés was born in 1485 to Martín Cortés de Monroy and Doña Catalina Pizarro Altamarino, minor nobles in Medellín, Spain. Cortés ignored the order and traveled to Mexico anyway, setting his sights on overthrowing ruler Montezuma II in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! In March 1513, Ponce de León led an expedition, at his own expense, of three ships and more than 200 men to Bimini from Puerto Rico. He entered Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital home to ruler Montezuma II, on November 8, 1519. Spain gives up Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States. Spanish Florida was established in 1513, when Juan Ponce de León claimed peninsular Florida for Spain during the first official European expedition to North America. He spent much of his later years seeking recognition for his achievements and support from the Spanish royal court. In 1513, while leading an expedition in search of gold, he sighted ...read more, The 16th-century Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto (c. 1496-1542) arrived in the West Indies as a young man and went on to make a fortune in the Central American slave trade. Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy support the Nationalists. 1808 - The Peninsular War is fought against the French Empire led by Napoleon. They dropped anchor at Tabasco, where he gained intelligence from locals about the land he desired to conquer. The Jews are expelled from Spain. He summoned a group of theologians and legal experts to consider the matter, and they met several times in 1512. Unemployment will rise to over 27% by 2013. 1975 - Dictator Francisco Franco dies. 1939 - World War II begins. The El Argar civilization begins to form. 1588 - The English fleet led by Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. 1761 - Spain joins the Seven Years' War against Great Britain. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. While a slave, he went with his Spanish owner on a campaign. There would be no retreat for his men, only conquest. He was the first Habsburg monarch of Spain and co-ruler of Spain with his mother, Queen Juana. The enraged Aztec forces eventually drove his forces from the city. He continued as a free conquistador with the Spaniards to fight the Mayas in Yucatán in 1540. He supplied ships for Francisco Pizarro’s southward expedition and ended up ...read more, Francisco Pizarro was an explorer, soldier and conquistador best known for conquering the Incas and executing their leader, Atahuapla. 1100 - The Phoenicians begin to settle in the region. Instead, he stumbled upon the Americas. 1701 - The War of the Spanish Succession begins. Spanish explorer and conquistador Francisco Pizarro helped Vasco Núñez de Balboa discover the Pacific Ocean, and after conquering Peru, founded its capital city, Lima. 1605 - Miguel de Cervantes publishes the first part of this epic novel. 900 - The Celtics arrive and settle northern Spain. He served as a notary in the town of Azúa for a few years before joining Diego Velázquez on a 1511 expedition to Cuba, where he climbed the ranks of the local government to become mayor of Santiago. He was able to earn his freedom during this service. Cortés used his new allies and united them against the Aztecs, who were resented by local groups for the high tributes they exacted. An accidental outcome of this search was the discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492 of land in the Western Hemisphere. Though he did not really ...read more, Born into Spanish nobility, Juan Ponce de León (1460-1521) may have accompanied Christopher Columbus on his 1493 voyage to the New World.