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Mar 4, 1418
Prince Henry starts a navigation school
Prince Henry the Navigator was a Portuguese royal prince, soldier, and patron of explorers. Henry sent many sailing expeditions down Africa's west coast, but did not go on them himself. Thanks to Prince Henry's patronage, Portuguese ships sailed to the Madeira Islands rounded Cape Bojador, sailed to Cape Blanc, sailed around Cap Vert, and went as far as the Gambia River and Cape Palm. -
May 4, 1481
Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas was intended to resolve the dispute that had been created following the return of Christopher Columbus. In 1481, the papal bull regis had granted all land south of the Canary Islands to Portugal. -
Oct 10, 1487
Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa
Dias was a Knight of the royal court, superintendent of the royal warehouses, and sailing-master of the man-of-war, São Cristóvão. King John II of Portugal appointed him, on 10 October 1487, to head an expedition to sail around the southern tip of Africa in the hope of finding a trade route to India. Dias was also charged with searching for the lands ruled by Prester John, who was a fabled Christian priest and ruler -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean
On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on a small island he called San Salvador. Columbus believed he had reached the Indies, or the islands southwest of India that include Indonesia and Malaysia. -
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 -
Apr 27, 1565
Spain begins settlements in the Philippines
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power. -
The Dutch establish a trading center on Java
Java was famous for rice surpluses and rice export since ancient times, and rice agriculture contributed to the population growth of the island. Trade with other parts of Asia such as India and China flourished as early as the 4th century, as evidenced by Chinese ceramics found on the island dated to that period. Java also took part in the global trade of Maluku spice from ancient times in the Majapahit era, until well into the VOC era. -
France sets up its own East India Company
At the time, it was customary for a company to be set up only for the duration of a single voyage, and to be liquidated on the return of the fleet. Investment in these expeditions was a very high-risk venture, not only because of the usual dangers of piracy, disease and shipwreck, but also because the interplay of inelastic demand and relatively elastic supply of spices could make prices tumble at just the wrong moment, thereby ruining prospects of profitability. -
Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut on the Indian Ocean
They set sail July 8, 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope four months later, and reached Calicut May 20, 1498. The Moors in Calicut instigated the Zamorin of Calicut against him, and he was compelled to return with the bare discovery and the few spices he had bought there at inflated prices. A force left by a second expedition under Cabral, left behind some men in a "factory" or trading station.
