-
1001
Viking reach North America
- In 1963, scientists found the remains of an early Viking settlement in Newfoundland.
- According to one story, a Viking named Leif Erikson and 35 others sailed from a colony on Greenland, in 1001, to investigate reports of land farther west.
-
1400
Prince Henry sponsors exploration
-Henry was the prince of Portugal when he became aware of the sub-Saharan trade routes and he became obsessed with learning more about Africa and gaining access to its riches.
-He sponsored voyages into the Atlantic and down the coast of Africa and established trade routes to the gold and slaves to be found there. -
1456
The Portuguese reached the Cape Verde.
-Portuguese reach the Cape Verde Islands.
-It became an important stop for ships coming and going from African coasts. -
1488
Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope.
-He rounded the southern tip of Africa and wanted to continue on to India, but his crew wouldn't budge so they returned to Europe. -
1492
Columbus discovers America.
-Christopher Columbus was obsessed with the sea from a very young age, he became convinced that one could reach India and China by sailing west.
-After trying nearly every court in Europe the Spanish Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor a voyage.
-He landed in the Bahamas and he never admitted that he had not reached India, but had in fact discovered a whole new continent. -
1497
Vasco da Gama reaches India.
-Da Gama's voyage linked east and west by sea for the first time.
-It signalled the beginning of European colonisation in Asia and the end of Muslim dominance of the spice trade. -
1497
John Cabot explores NewFoundland.
-Cabot was the first European since Viking times to reach the North American mainland.
-Cabot made three expeditions to North America. -
1500
Pedro Álvares Cabral
- Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese explorer who is credited with discovering Brazil in South America.
- A fleet led by Pedro Álvares Cabral reached the Brazilian coast on April 22nd, 1500.
-
1513
Balboa discovers Pacific Ocean
- Balboa led an expedition of some 190 Spaniards and a number of Indians southward across the Isthmus of Panama.
- Late that same month, Balboa climbed a mountain peak and sighted the Pacific Ocean, which the Spaniards called the Mar del Sur (South Sea).
-
1513
Jorge Álvarez reaches China
- Álvares made his first contact on Chinese soil on an island near the historic city of Guangzhou in southern China
-
1513
Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean.
-Balboa settled in the New World in 1500 and In 1510 he founded a new settlement in Panama.
-When he reached the Pacific Ocean he claimed the sea and all the lands touching it for Spain. -
1526
King Afonso I
- The African slave trade started getting so bad – 2,000 slaves were going at first and in a couple of years, there were over 10 million slaves.
- King Afonso of Congo wrote a letter saying the corruption was so great, it was depopulating their country.
-
Period: 1528 to 1536
de Vacas's exploration of North America
-Cabeza de Vaca's expedition across North America.
-Eventually, he traveled south far enough in Mexico to encounter Spaniards. -
1543
Portuguese reach Japan
- Portuguese merchant António Mota was swept off course by a storm and unintentionally arrived in Japan.
- Later that same year, Fernão Mendes Pinto intentionally sailed to Japan and established trade relations with the country.
-
1576
Martin Frobisher explores northern Canada
- Martin Frobisher, an English explorer, embarked on a voyage in search of a northwest passage to Asia but failed to find it.
- However, Frobisher discovered Frobisher Bay and Baffin Island in northern Canada and returned to England.
-
1576
Martin Frobisher explores northern Canada.
-Frobisher sailed for England and he discovered Frobisher Bay and Baffin Island.
-He was an English privateer and did much better plundering treasure from the French. -
Willem Janszoon discovers Australia
- Janszoon, sailing for the Dutch East India Company, was sent to find new islands and potential trading partners in the East Indies.
- Mistakenly thinking he had discovered a southern extension of New Guinea, Janszoon landed in Queensland, on the northern tip of Australia, in his initial voyage.
-
Henry Hudson explores the North American coast.
- Henry Hudson, sailing for the English, explored the North American coast in search of a northwest passage to China but did not find it.
- Hudson discovered Greenland, the Hudson River, and Hudson's Bay during multiple voyages over seven years.