| | | | |
| | 1536 | Spanish conquistador Cabeza de Vaca reaches Culiacdn, Mexico | |
| | | | |
| | 1540 | The Spanish explorer, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (1510-1554) explores the area from Gulf of California to present-day Kansas and discovers the Grand Canyon | |
| | | | |
| | 1580 | Fray Augustin Rodriguez and Captain Francisco Sanchez Chamuscado travel up the Rio Grande | |
| | | | |
| | 1582 | Fray Bernadino Beltran and Fray Antonio de Espejo travel to New Mexico | |
| | | | |
| | 1598 | Juan de Onate 1595-1628 establishes the first Spanish capital of San Juan de los Caballeros | |
| | | | |
| | 1599 | Battle at Aroma between Pueblo natives and Spaniards | |
| | | | |
| | 1605 | Juan de Onate 1595-1628 leads expedition to the Colorado River | |
| | | | |
| | 1626 | The Spanish Inquisition established in New Mexico | |
| | | | |
| | 1680 | Pueblo Indian Revolt lead by Pope, a Pueblo Indian from the San Juan Pueblo | |
| | | | |
| | 1600's | In the late 1600's Navajos, Apaches, lies, and Comanches begin raids against Pueblo Indians | |
| | | | |
| | 1696 | Second Pueblo Revolt - the Natives were defeated | |
| | | | |
| | 1756 | 1756 - 1763 - The Seven Years War (French and Indian War) due to disputes over land is won by Great Britain. France gives England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba | |
| | | | |
| | 1776 | Franciscan Fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante explore route from out New Mexico to California. | |
| | | | |
| | 1786 | Juan Bautista de Anza ( 1736- 1788) makes peace with the Comanches. | |
| | | | |
| | 1807 | Zebulon M. Pike (1779-1813), a native of New Jersey, leads first Anglo American expedition into New Mexico | |
| | | | |
| | 1821 | Mexico declares independence from Spain | |
| | | | |
| | 1821 | William Bucknell ( 1773 - ?) opens the Santa Fe Trail between Missouri and New Mexico | |
| | | | |
| | 1828 | Gold discovered in the Ortiz Mountains | |
| | | | |
| | 1835 | Las Vegas is the last Spanish colony established in North America | |
| | | | |
| | 1841 | Texans invade New Mexico and claim all land east of the Rio Grande | |
| | | | |
| | 1846 | Mexican-American War begins. Stephen Watts Kearny ( 1794 - 1848) annexes New Mexico to the United States | |
| | | | |
| | 1848 | Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican-American War | |
| | | | |
| | 1850 | New Mexico (which included present-day Arizona, southern Colorado, southern Utah, and southern Nevada) is designated a territory but denied statehood | |
| | | | |
| | 1854 | The Gadsden Purchase adds 45,000 square miles to the territory | |
| | | | |
| | 1859 | John Brown raided Harpers Ferry and set in motion events that led directly to the outbreak of the Civil War. | |
| | | | |
| | 1861 | 1861 - 1865: The American Civil War. outbreak of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president and in 1861 the South Secedes. The initial Secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. | |
| | | | |
| | 1863 | Known as the "Long Walk," Navajos and Apaches are forced to walk more than 300 miles from north-eastern Arizona and north-western New Mexico to Bosque Redondo | |
| | | | |
| | 1863 | New Mexico is partitioned in half. Territory of Arizona is created | |
| | | | |
| | 1865 | The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signalled the end of the Confederacy | |
| | | | |
| | 1865 | 1865 December 6 - The Abolishment of Slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, thus officially abolishing slavery | |
| | | | |
| | 1865 | The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signalled the end of the Confederacy | |
| | | | |
| | 1871 | William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid ( 1859-1881) kills his first man with a knife in Silver City at the age of 12 years old | |
| | | | |
| | 1878 | The railroad arrives in New Mexico | |
| | | | |
| | 1881 | Billy the Kid ( 1859-1881) is shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner | |
| | | | |
| | 1886 | Apache chief Geronimo and his followers surrender to General Nelson A. Miles, thus ending Indian hostilities cease in the Southwest | |
| | | | |
| | 1898 | 1898-1901 The Spanish American War. On December 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris the US annexes Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines. | |
| | | | |
| | 1908 | Pat Garrett is shot to death at the age of 57 in an argument with a rancher | |
| | | | |
| | 1912 | Statehood - The Date that New Mexico was admitted to the Union - January 6, 1912. Constitution - New Mexico was the 47th State to be admitted to the Union. State Motto - " Crescit eundo " the State Motto is translated as " It grows as it goes" | |
| | | | |