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Mar 18, 1418
Navigation School
Prince Henry founded his Institute at Sagres on the southwestern-most point of Portugal, Cape Saint Vincent - a place ancient geographers referred to as the western edge of the earth. The institute, best described as a fifteenth century research and development facility, included libraries, an astronomical observatory, ship-building facilities, a chapel, and housing for staff.
The institute was designed to teach navigational techniques to Portuguese sailors, to collect and disseminate geographi -
May 18, 1488
Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa
Dias's expedition reached its furthest point on 12 March 1488 when they anchored at Kwaaihoek, near the mouth of the Bushman's River, where a padrão—the Padrão de São Gregório—was erected before turning back.[2] Dias wanted to continue sailing to India, but he was forced to turn back when his crew refused to go further.[3] It was only on the return voyage that he actually discovered the Cape of Good Hope, in May 1488. -
Oct 12, 1492
Columbus lands in the Caribbean
On Oct. 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus made landfall on a small island in the Caribbean. -
Jun 7, 1494
Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas
On June 7, 1494 Spain and Portugal met at Tordesillas, Spain and signed a treaty. The Pope decreed that all lands discovered west of a meridian 100 leagues (one league is 3 miles or 4.8 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands should belong to Spain while new lands discovered east of that line would belong to Portugal. This papal bull also specified that all lands already under the control of a "Christian prince" would remain under that same control. This limiting line made Portugal angry. King John -
May 20, 1498
Vasco de Gama
Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast. -
Mar 16, 1521
Ferdinand Magellan leads a Spanish expedition to the Philippines
Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese in the service of the Spanish crown, was looking for a westward route to the to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. On March 16, 1521, Magellan's expedition landed on Homonhon island in the Philippines. He was the first European to reach the islands -
May 19, 1571
Spain begins settlements in the Philippines
1571, May 19. Rajah Suliman wages war against the Spaniards due to a move by de Goiti which he mistakes for an assault. De Goiti's army defeats Suliman's troops and occupies the town. -
Dutch Establish a trade post in Java
In 1603, the first permanent Dutch trading post in Indonesia was established in Banten, West Java -
French East India Company
The French East India Company was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies in the East Indies.
