Explorers

The search for new routes

May 11, 1400

By the late Middle Ages Europeans had delveloped a taste for spices in their diets. Most spices came from islands in Asia. Because they had to be shipped halfway around the world on risky voyages spices were costly. For hundreds of years the Italian port city of Venice controlled this trade.

1492

Jun 15, 1492

In 1492 Columbus led his first expedition westward. He landed in the Bahamas islands that he believed to be near Asia. On another voyage in 1498 Columbus reached

Europeans Branch Out

Aug 19, 1498

In the early 1400s people in Europe began to look to the and beyond. Some longed for adventure. Others wanted to spread Christianity far and wide. Most of all, though people wanted to find riches. The age of exploration and discovery had begun.

The Columbian Exchange

Sep 16, 1498

The columbian exchange in the years following Columbus's voyages a great interaction between the new world and old world took place. This interaction is sometimes referred to as the colubian Exchange. Plants, animals, and even dieses moved between

1508

Mar 4, 1508

Powerful Spain clamied many of the New World lands. In the early 1500's Spain taking control of much of south and central america and many Carribbean islands including cuba and Hispaniola.

1524

Nov 5, 1524

In 1524 King Francis I of France sent Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazano westward. Across those narrow islands he thought he saw the Pacific Ocean. In fact, he was looking at the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds.