-
1418
Prince Henry sponsors exploration
He was a Portuguese Prince who began sending mission out inti the Atlantic. By 1419 they discovered Madeira. -
1434
Portuguese reach Cape Verde
A huge breakthrough for the Portuguese occurred when Gil Eanes sailed beyond Cape Bojador and returned alive. -
1488
Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope
The first European to round the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa. This was a significant accomplishment as it proved there was another ocean on the other side of the continent. -
1492
Columbus rediscovers America
Funded by the king and queen, he set sail on his ship the Santa Maria and found America. -
1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
The governments of Spain and Portugal agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas, named for the city in Spain in which it was created. It neatly divided the “New World” of the Americas between the two superpowers. -
1497
John Cabot explores Newfoundland
Henry VII sponsors John Cabot to find the Northwest Passage. -
1498
Vasco da Gama reaches India
He circled Africa and made it to India. Which increased Portugal’s wealth. -
1513
Balboa Sees the Pacific
Balboa led an expedition of some 190 Spaniards and a number of Indians southward across the Isthmus of Panama. -
1517
Martin Luther publishes the 95 Theses
The 95 Theses was a list of questions and propositions for debate that Martin Luther wrote when he began to question the practice of selling indulgence. They became the catalyst for reformation and changed the course of religious and cultural history. -
1519
Spanish expedition to East Indies
Ferdinand Magellan led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East Indies across the Pacific Ocean. -
1521
Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire
Hernán Cortés and a small band of men brought down the Aztec empire in Mexico. -
1521
Magellan killed while attempting to navigate
During his voyage, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan by a poison arrow during a skirmish on the island of Mactan in what is now the Philippines. -
1524
Verrazzano sails to New York Bay
On France's behalf, Verrazzano and his crew became the first known Europeans to sail into New York Bay. They were greeted peacefully by the Native Americans and treated well. -
1534
Cartier explores Eastern Canada
Navigator claimed northern North America for France, naming the area around the St. Lawrence River New France -
1578
Francis Drake Navigated the Straits of Magellan
The first Englishman to navigate the Straits of Magellan, a sea route at the southern tip of South America linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. -
East India Company formed
Acted as a part-trade organization, part-nation-state and reaped vast profits from overseas trade with India, China, Persia and Indonesia for more than two centuries. -
Dutch East India Company was formed
Its purpose was to open trade in North and South America, build forts, maintain troops, and challenge Spanish trading in the West Indies. -
Hudson Explores the coast of North America
He set out to find a Northeast passage, his attempts contributed significantly to the geography of North America. -
Dutch seized Spanish Possessions
Dutch seized Spanish possessions in the West Indies; these islands were the foundation of what would later be known as the Netherlands Antilles. -
Abel Tasman discovers New Zealand
The first European to sight Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga, and the Fiji Islands. -
Britain seeks to trade with china.
McCartney Mission, a British mission sent to China in 1792-1793 to secure more favorable trade for Britain.