European Overseas Expansion

The Portuguese reach Cape Verde and the Gambia River.

Nov 5, 1446

Alvise Cadamosto was an Italian slave trader and explorer, who was hired by the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator and undertook two known journeys to West Africa in 1455 and 1456. Cadamosto and his companions are credited with the discovery of the Cape Verde Islands and the points along the Guinea coast, from the Gambia River to the Geba River, the greatest leap in the Henrican discoveries since 1446.

Bartolomeu Dias rounds the "Cape of Storms" (Cape of Good Hope)

Dec 8, 1488

Bartolomeu Dias, a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer. He sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so.The expedition sailed south along the West coast of Africa. After having sailed past Angola, Dias reached the Golfo da Conceicão by December. Having rounded the Cape of Good Hope at a considerable distance, Dias continued east and entered what he named Aguada de São Brás (Bay of Saint Blaise).

Christopher Columbus discovers the Bahamas, Cuba, and "Española"

Nov 5, 1492

Christopher Columbus was a Spanish - Italian navigator who sailed westward across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a shorter route to Asia. He did reach land, not in Asia, but what we know now to be North America and the Carribean. Christopher Columbus became famous for his discovery, and is still a celebrated hero to this day. Based on the information of his travels, he believed that the earth was 25% smaller than thought, and composed mostly of land. Therefore, the fastest way to reach Asia wou

Columbus discovers the mainland of South America

Aug 19, 1498

For the first two weeks of August, 1498, Columbus and his small fleet explored the Gulf of Paria, which separates Trinidad from mainland South America. In the process of this exploration, they discovered the Island of Margarita as well as several smaller islands. They also discovered the mouth of the Orinoco River. Such a mighty freshwater river could only be found on a continent, not an island, and the increasingly religious Columbus concluded that he had found the site of the Garden of Eden. C

Pizarro and his pilot Bartolomé Ruiz explore the west coast of South America from the San Juan River south to the Santa River (about 9° S), becoming the first to sight the coasts of Ecuador and Peru

Nov 6, 1526

Joined by four of his brothers, Pizarro sailed for Panama in January 1530 and by January of the following year was ready to set off for Peru. He set sail with one ship, 180 men, and 37 horses, being joined later by two more ships. By April they had made contact with emissaries of Atahuallpa, emperor of the Incas, who was residing near the city of Cajamarca with an army of about 30,000 men. Somewhat scornful of Pizarro's small force, the Inca accepted a proposal that the two leaders meet in that

Sir Francis Drake completes the second circumnavigation of the globe

Nov 6, 1577

Sir Francis Drake, vice admiral (c. 1540 – 27 January 1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Drake carried out the second circumnavigation of the world, from 1577 to 1580. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He died of dysentery in January 1596] after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico. His exploits were legendary, ma

Bento de Góis travels overland from India to China, via Afghanistan and the Pamirs

Nov 6, 1602

Bento de Góis, was a Portuguese Jesuit Brother, Missionary and explorer. His name is commonly given in English as Bento de Goes or Bento de Goës, in the past, it has also been Anglicized as Benedict Goës. He is mainly remembered as the first known European to travel overland from India to China. Inspired by controversies among the Jesuits as to whether the Cathay of Marco Polo's stories is the same country as China, his expedition conclusively proved that the two countries are one and the same,

Willem Janszoon discovers Australia at the mouth of the Pennefather River on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula, exploring its coast from Badu Island south to Cape Keerweer

Nov 6, 1606

Willem Janszoon made the first recorded European landing on the Australian continent in 1606, sailing from Bantam. As an employee of the Dutch East India Company, Janszoon had been instructed to explore the coast of New Guinea in search of economic opportunities. He had originally arrived in Dutch East Indies from the Netherlands in 1598 and become an officer of the VOC on its establishment in 1602. In 1605, he sailed from Bantam to its south coast and continued down what he thought was a southe