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Jan 1, 1415
Prince Henry
Led the way in exploration for Portugal. His men discovered & claimed the Madeira and Azores islands to w & sw of Portugal. By 1415, Portugal expanded into Muslim North Africa & seized the port, Cueta. Organized his men & ships to slowly make their way s to explore the w coast of Africa. -
Jan 1, 1488
Bartholemue Dias
He rounded the southern tip of Africa. The seas were very turbulent, but the tip nonetheless became known as the Cape of Good Hope. This is because it opened the way for a sea route to Asia. -
Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus
Italian-born Christopher Columbus, sponsored by Spain, set sail westward with 3 small ships, Nina, Pina, Santa Maria, to reach the east( by sailing west). Land was spotted on October 12. He returned to Spain in 1493, & sailed 3 more voyages, believing, for the first few, that he was actually in Asia. He ended up discovering the Americas. -
Jan 1, 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
The specific terms of the Line of Demarcation are agreed to in this treaty. It was signed between the two countries, Spain & Portugal. Line divided the non-Eur. wrld into 2 zones.. W of line= Spainish trading grounds. E of line= Portuguese trading grounds. -
Jan 1, 1497
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama led four ships around the Cape of Good Hope and reached the great spice pore of Calicut, after a 10 month voyage. On the way home from the west coast of India, they lost half their ships and had many casualties. -
Jan 1, 1497
John Cabot
The venetian navigator found rich fishing grounds off Newfoundland, which he claimed for England. -
Jan 1, 1502
Vasco da Gama voyage 2
He outfitted a new fleet, set off again, reached Calicut, forced a treaty on the ruler, & left some merchants there to buy spices when the prices were low & store them until the next fleet could return. He later to establish other key ports in the area, & the Portuegese trading emp, making Port. a wrld power. -
Jan 1, 1510
Afonso de Albuquergue of Portugal
Under his control, Portugal took the island of Goa off India's coast & made it a base. He burned coastal towns & crushed Arab fleets at sea to one day make the Indian Ocean into a Portuguese lake & to end Musilm power. In 1511, he took the East Indies port of Malacca & massacred all of the city's Muslims. -
Jan 1, 1513
Vasco Nunes de Balboa
Span. adventurer who discovered the South Sea(Pacific Ocean). Local Indians in Panama helped him hack a passage through the dense tropical forests to the west coast. -
Sep 20, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan
Portuguese nobleman set out from Spain with 5 ships to find a way to reach the Pacific. Eventually reached the coast of S Amer & explored each bay to find 1 leading to Pacific. Nov. 1520 found Strait of Magellan & emerged into South Sea. Renamed it the Pacific, from Latin word meaning peaceful. -
Nov 1, 1520
Magellan part 2
Though he had reached the Pacific, completing mission, Magellan insisted they push on across Pacific to East Indies. Thought 3 weeks to reach Spice Islands, aftually 4 months to reach Philippines in Mar 1521, where he was killed. Sept 8, 1522 the survivors reached Spain. 1st people to circumnavigate world. -
Jan 1, 1532
Francisco Pizarro in Peru for Spain
Newly crowned Incan emporer, Atahualpa, refused to become Span. vassal or convert to Christianity. Pizarro, w/ Indian ally help, captured him & killed thousands of Inca. A huge ransom for the ruler was demanded, & though the Inca paid, Pizarro killed the ruler anyway. Peru claimed for Spain, & later much of SA. -
Jan 1, 1534
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier began exploring the coastline of eastern Canada. He discovered the St. Lawrence River & traveled inland to claim much of present-day eastern Canada for France. -
Samuel de Chaimplain
Samuel de Chaimplain established the first permanent French settlement in Quebec. The harsh climates were not well liked by settling farmers, & fur trapping became the main industry of the area. -
Lord MaCartney's trip to China for Britian
He arrived at the head of a British diplomatic mission, but due to missunderstandings, miscommunication, & differences in culture, he ended up offending the emporer. Trading request denied, &, seeing foreigners as barbarians, China closed its doors for years, causing it to fall behind in technology.
