Over the next four-hundred years, Europeans would attempt to colonize the New World. One of the first men to sail the many seas of the world was Ferdinand Magellan. He explored the world for the purest materials to be used in wand-making. While he was on his journey, he encountered many different native peoples. They traded their wand-making materials for spell books that on alchemy. Almost all the materials for wands were lost on the return voyage back to Europe. After Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, the Spanish sent out many conquistadors to explore the New World. One of these conquistadors was Herando Cortez, Conqueror of the Aztecs and Mayans. Both Aztec and Mayan priests had predicted that a great man in shining clothing would arrive to lead their civilizations to unimaginable proportions. Cortez would start one of the biggest wizards wars the Wizarding world will ever know, slaughtering over one million natives, drawing the Mayans to extinction. This is where the creation of the three unforgivable curses occurred. Cortez would use all three to learn where El Derado, the city of gold was located. He would use the Cruciatus curse to get information, and then use the, Imperius curse to explore the city and kill them on their return. After years of gathering information about El Derado, he learned that the natives had used the books of alchemy that Magellan had provided, to build the city. Cortez laced siege to the city, killing all inside. He then recovered the alchemy books along with over five-hundred pounds of gold. With the extinction of the Maya and the enslaving of the Aztecs, the Spanish created their empire in present-day Mexico. They later expanded their borders into the western United States and northern South America. After hearing the news of the five-hundred pounds of gold the Spanish had brought to Europe, The British quickly expanded their empire to the New World as well, creating colonies on the east coast of the U.S. The British coexisted well with the Native Americans, but relations with the French Canada to the north were not so cordial. War would soon break out between the two growing empires. Once again, wizards and witches would take a big role in the war. Wizards and witches were responsible for many of the assassinations of high-ranking officers in the French-Indian War. In Pennsylvania, witches were becoming very common, especially the witches of Salem, known for their potion-making proficiency. Now it was no secret that the townspeople knew they had witches in their town. They watched them with a keen eye, so when a priest that commonly spoke out against witchcraft was poisoned, the townsfolk turned to the them. All thirteen witches were hanged on the spot, even though twelve of them were innocent. This will be examined further in the next chapter. The British colonies in New England were becoming rebellious. War was in the air once again. The famous American General, George Washington, would have visions of where the enemy would move next. This ability was often unpredictable and was hard to control. One of his visions landed him in Valley Forge with subzero temperatures for the entire winter. As the war went on, he learned to control his powers and used them to his advantage. Washington's ability to see the future was the main reason the U.S. won the war. As expansion continued, more and more information on magic was acquired. The first settlers in an area often traded potion ingredients to create fertilizers for farms, medicines for sickness, and flavoring for food. The wizards and witches of the Colonial Era acquired quite a lot of information in a short amount of time, setting the stage for excellent magic educations.