Age of Exploration

Columbus Sets Sail

Aug 3, 1492

Columbus left a port in Spain in search of a westerly route to Asia, though he never did find it.

Columbus Finds Land

Oct 11, 1492

On October 11, Columbus spots and lands on an island, which he later named San Salvador. Columbus believed he had made it to Asia and this area was the Indies, however he discovered an entire new continent.

Columbus Returns to Spain

Mar 15, 1493

After visiting Hispaniola, Cuba, and many other Caribbean islands, and losing more than half his crew, Columbus returned to Spain on March 3.

Columbus' Second Voyage

Sep 25, 1493

This time a much larger expedition, Columbus set sail for a second time in search of gold and to capture Indians for slavery. Columbus sailed about Cuba and Hispaniola, eventually spotting and naming the island of Dominica.

Columbus Returns For a Second Time

Jun 11, 1496

On June 11, Columbus returned to Spain after his second, less successful expedition.

Vespucci's First Voyage

May 10, 1497

Though there is speculation, many people believe that Vespucci departed from Cadiz, Spain, for his first voyage on May 10, 1497, on account of a letter.

Vasco da Gama's First Voyage

Jul 8, 1497

On July 8th, da Gama and his crew departed from Portugal in search of a sailing route to India and other Eastern coastal countries. Da Gama took a Southern route to round the Cape of Good Hope and cross into the Indian Ocean.

Da Gama Reaches the Port of Mozambique

Mar 1, 1498

In early March, da Gama and his crew reached the Muslim port of Mozambique. However, upon their arrival, the ruler was offended by their modest gifts and turned them away.

Da Gama Lands in Calicut

May 20, 1498

Although there was some confusion by the act that the residents of Calicut, India, were actually Hindu, they were still welcomed by the Hindu ruler. They remained in Calicut for three months, although Muslim traders and Hindu residents made them, as Christians, feel unwanted.

Columbus' Third Exploration

May 30, 1498

After departing, this time sailing farther South, Columbus passed through both Trinidad and Venezuela.

Da Gama Departs For Portugal

Aug 1, 1498

In August of 1498, da Gama and his crew left Calicut and made their way toward Portugal; however, because of his lack of knowledge of the area, they left during monsoon season.

Vespucci Returns

Oct 1, 1498

If the contents of this letter are true, then Vespucci would have discovered Venezuela a year before Columbus upon returning back to Spain in October of 1498.

Vespucci's Second Voyage

May 1, 1499

After departing from Spain under the command of someone else, Vespucci separated with him to explore Brazil and its coastline, where he discovered the Amazon River and Cape St. Augustine.

Da Gama Arrives Back In Portugal

Jul 10, 1499

Because of their untimely retreat, many of da Gama's crew members suffered from sickness and died. The first ship only ended up making it back to Portugal a year after their departure.

Vespucci's Return to Spain

Jun 1, 1500

Vespucci's returned to Spain in June of 1500 after exploring the coastline, however, this continent left Vespucci to wonder whether it was really Asia or not.

Columbus Returns For the Third Time

Oct 1, 1500

After being the first European to set foot on mainland America since the Vikings, Columbus returned to Spain in October of 1500.

Vespucci's Third Exploration

May 14, 1501

Sailing for Portugal this time around, Vespucci departed towards Cape Verde for what is considered his most successful voyage. Along his way, he encountered places such as Rio de Janeiro, Rio de la Plata, and many other places on the coast of South America.

Vespucci's Returns to Portugal

1502

Sometime in 1502 Vespucci returned from his third voyage with a confirmed theory: the "New World" was a whole new continent. Amerigo was the first to realize that they weren't reaching a western route to Asia, but to a whole different continent.

Vasco da Gama's Second Voyage Sets Sail

Feb 1, 1502

With the command of ten ships in his hands, da Gama set sail for the Indian Ocean with orders to secure Portugal's dominance in the area.

Columbus' Last Voyage

May 9, 1502

During the span of this expedition, Columbus encountered areas such as Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica and Panama.

Da Gama Arrives at His First Port on the Second Voyage

Jun 14, 1502

On June 14, 1502, Vasco da Gama arrived at the port of Sofala in East Africa. This was one of the many ports they stopped at on their way to terrorizing Muslim ports.

Vespucci's Fourth and Final Voyage

Jun 10, 1503

Sailing under the Portuguese flag yet again, Vespucci departed Portugal heading toward Brazil. After no real discoveries, they reached some difficulty; however, he still managed to discover Bahia and the island of South Georgia.

Da Gama Makes It Back To Portugal

Oct 11, 1503

After terrorizing and destroying many different trade ports and killing several hundred of people, Vasco da Gama and his crew arrived back in Portugal on October 11.

Amerigo Vespucci's Final Return

1504

Vespucci was forced to return to Lisbon, Portugal, prematurely sometime in 1504 because of the implications with the captain that occurred.

Columbus Makes it Back To Spain

Nov 7, 1504

After being stranded on Cuba for several years, Columbus and his crew were rescued by the people of Hispaniola, with a little persuasion, and brought back to Spain.