Spanish colonists found the city of Santo Domingo
Dating from 1493, when the Spanish settled on the island, and officially from 5 August 1498, Santo Domingo became the oldest European city in the Americas.
15th Century C.E.
Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas
After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia.
Migrating Bantu peoples establish the Maravi Confederacy in modern-day Malawi
Maravi was a kingdom which straddled the current borders of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, in the 16th century. The present-day name ” is said to derive from the Chichewa word “malaŵÔ, which means “flames”.
The Awori people found Lagos in modern-day Nigeria
Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba people in the 15th century. Under the leadership of the Oloye Olofin, the Awori moved to an island now called Iddo and then to the larger Lagos Island.
Incas construct Macchu Picchu
Built in the 15th century and later abandoned, it’s renowned for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar, intriguing buildings that play on astronomical alignments and panoramic views.
The Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca peoples form the Iroquois Confederation
The Iroquois Confederacy or Haudenosaunee is believed to have been founded by the Peacemaker in 1142 or 1451 C.E., bringing together five distinct nations in the southern Great Lakes area into “The Great League of Peace”.
Sejong the Great creates Hangul, the Korean alphabet
Known as Hangul in South Korea or Chosŏn’gŭl in North Korea, it is still the official writing system of Korea, both South Korea and North Korea.
Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. This was a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods.
Under the leadership of Manco Cápac, the Inca form the small city-state Kingdom of Cusco
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas incorporated a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean Mountains, using conquest and peaceful assimilation, among other methods.
The Songhai Empire rises to power in the western Sahel
At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its leading ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai.