Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founds the city of Havana
Havana was founded in the sixteenth century and became a major port for Atlantic shipping, particularly the Spanish treasure fleet.
Cities
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.
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.
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 Lebou people settle what is now Dakar in modern-day Senegal
The Cap-Vert peninsula was settled no later than the 15th century, by the Lebou people, an aquacultural ethnic group related to the neighboring Wolof and Serer. Dakar is now the capital and largest city of Senegal.
The city now known as Phnom Penh is founded in modern-day Cambodia
Phnom Penh, formerly known as Krong Chaktomuk Serimongkul or shortly known as Krong Chaktomuk is now the capital and most populous city in Cambodia.
The Mexica people found Tenochtitlan
Eventually, Tenochtitlan came to be the capital of the vast Aztec Empire. At its peak, it was likely home to more than 200,000 people, making it one of the largest cities in the world at the time.
Timbuktu in modern-day Mali becomes a permanent settlement
Timbuktu started out as a seasonal settlement and became a permanent settlement early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory, and slaves.
The first settlement appears at the site of modern-day Moscow
The first known reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a meeting place of Yuri Dolgoruky and Sviatoslav Olgovich. At the time it was a minor town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality.