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Mar 12, 1488
Bartholomeu Dias Sails To The Sothern Tip of Africa
In 1488, Portuguesse explorer Bartholomeu Dias became the first European mariner to round the sothern tip of Africa, opening the was=y for a sea route from Europe to Asia. Dias' ships rounded the perilous Cape pf Good Hope and then sailed around Africs's southernmost point, Cabo Das Agulhas, to enter the waters of the Indian Ocean. Portugal and other European nathion already had long-estabslished trade ties to Asia. -
Aug 3, 1492
Columbus's First Voyage
Having convinced the King and Qeen of Spain to finance his voyage Christopher Columbus departed mainland Spain on Aug 3rd,1492. He quickly made port in the Canary Islands for a final restocking and left ther on September 6th. -
Sep 24, 1493
Columbus's Second Voyage
Christopher Columbus returned from his fisrt voyage in March,1493, having discovered the New World although he didnt know it. He still believed that he had found some uncharted islands near Japan or China, and that further exploration was needed. -
Jun 7, 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
Treaty of Tordesillas, (June 7th, 1484), agreement between Spain and Portugal ained at settling conflicts over lands newly discovered or explored by Christopher Columbus and other late 15th-centruy voyagers. In 1493, after reports of Colukmbus's discoveries had reached them, the Spanisg rulers Ferdinand and Isabella enlisted papel support for thier claims to the New World in order to inhibit the Portuguese and other possible rival claimants. -
May 20, 1498
When Vasco Da Gama Reached India
On May 20th, 1498, sailing for the Portuguese crown, Vasco Da Gama reached Calocut, India. Having successfully sailed around the Southern tip of Africa, da Gama had pioneered a sea route from Europe to Asia that bypassed the Muslim nations that cintrolled the overland spice tade, In his late thirties at the time of his voyage, da Gama was the son of a minor Portuguese nobleman. Why he was chosen by Potugals's King Manuel to leas the expedition to India is unknown. -
May 30, 1498
Columbus's Third Voyage
After his famous 1492 voyage of discovery, Christopher Columbus was commissioned to return a second time, which he did with a large-scale colonization effort which departed from Spain in 1493. Although the second journey had many problems, it was considered successful because a settlement was founded: it would eventually become Santo Domingo, capital of the present-day Dominican Republic. -
Apr 22, 1500
When Cabral Reaches Brazil
The discovery of Brazil was in episode in the creation of Portugese commercial empire which in less then a hundred years extended to four continents. The Portuguese estabhlished West AFrican coastal stations from early in the fifteenth century. In 1499 Vasco Da Gama returned in triumph to Lisbon from his empch-making voyage to India round the Cape of Good Hope. In the following year, King Manuel 1 sent a fresh expedition to India, of thirteen ships and 1,200 men. -
May 11, 1502
Columbus's Fourth Voyage
On May 11th, 1502, Christopher Columbus set out on his fourth and final voyage to the new world. He had four ships and his misson was to explore uncharted areas to the west of the Caribbean, hopefully finding a passage west to the Orient. Columbus did explore parts of southern Central America, but his ships, damaged by a hurricane and termites, fell apart while he was exploring. -
Apr 16, 1519
When Cortes Landed in Mexico
It is spring, 1519. A Spanish expedition consisting of 11 ships is setting sail westward in hopes of expanding the Em[pire. News had reached Velasquez, the governer of Cuba, that some of his men had found land past the oceanic horizon where the sun sets. Velasquez appointed Hernan Cortes as Captian-General of the Armada and sent him off to follow the rumor. Cortes may not have been the most qualified to lead the courage. -
Henry Hudson's Sail
Henry Hudson was an explorer who found and sailed through the river that became known as the Hudson River. He helped the world understand more about Earth's geography, and he is remembered as great explorer. -
Invention of the Astrolabe
The orgins of the Astrolabes were in classical Greece. Apollonius (ca. 225 BC), the great codifier of conic sections, probably studied the astrolabe projection. The mist influential individual on the thoery of the Astrolabe porjection as a method for sloving complex astronmical problems without spherical trigonometry and probably proved its main characteristics. Hipparchus did not invent the astrolabe, but he did refine the projection thoery.
