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Period: 1487 to
Age of Exploration
A time in Spanish history in which there was extensive overseas exploration -
1488
Bartolomeu Dias reached the tip of Africa
Portuguese explorers began to expand towards southern Africa under Prince Henry The Navigator. -
1491
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
Christopher Columbus set sail looking for Asia but instead came across new land which would become America. -
1497
England send their first expedition with John Cabot
John Cabot discovered most of the northeastern coastline of North America -
1500
Pedro Cabral of Portugal reaches South America
Sea captain Pedro Cabral reached South America to claim land in the race to the Americas. -
1502
Da Gama sets up a trading post
With Da Gama’s new fleet, and in 1502 he forced a treaty of cooperation on the ruler of Calicut. He then sets up trading posts, allowing Portuguese merchants to trade spice. -
1518
Spanish ship carried the first enslaved Africans directly from West Africa to the Americas.
The need for slaves grew significantly with Europe’s expansion to the Americas. Slaves were used to doing heavy labor such as farming. -
1519
Hernan Cortes and 550 soldiers landed in Veracruz, Mexico
Hernan Cortes searched for land to rule in order to grow an empire. -
1524
Giovanni de Verrazzano sails across the Atlantic and discovers more of America’s eastern coastline
Established many settlements along the coastline of North America and what would be known as Virginia -
1535
Fransisco Pizzaro conquered the Inca and established a new capital in Lima
Fransisco Pizarrolanded in South America on the pacific coast and conquered the native people of Inca and established a colony for the Spanish empire. -
1536
Jacques Cartier travels inland to North America
Cartier claimed the most northern part of North America for France which is now recognized as Canada. -
1538
Fewer than 500 native people in Hispaniola
The Columbian exchange brought travelers from Europe such as Christopher Columbus and these foreigners brought many diseases that had not yet been introduced to the native people of America causing a large number of deaths. -
1579
Francis Drake sails across the North American shoreline
Drake was an English naval commander and had claimed the land for England calling it Nova Albion. -
The Dutch fleet arrived in India and established the East India Company
The establishment of the East India Company pushed the Portuguese of the spice trade in Southeast Asia -
Samuel De Champlain founded Quebec
The French colonized parts of what is now Canada which led to the founding of the first permanent french settlement, Quebec. -
The Dutch East India Company sends Henry Hudson to present Canada and the northern United States
Hudson finds new lands and establishes a settlement in the present-day Hudson River -
The Dutch spotted and noticed New Zealand
Abel Tasman had located New Zealand and only spotted New Zealand’s lands, however, he did not explore the insides of the land. -
Population explosion in China during the Qing Dynasty
The Columbian Exchange brought the introduction of new goods such as maize and sweet potatoes from America to China and brought more people into the country. -
England claims the Dutch’s settlement of New Netherlands a.k.a New York
England had gone to take over the settlement and its trading post in Manhattan. -
The fall of the Mongol Empire in India starts
The Mongols began to lose grip of their region in the Middle East and their decline in power begins. -
The Seven Years’ War ignites
England allied with Austria and France allied with Prussia became two groups rivaled with each other for colonial empires as both sides attempted to discover many places.
