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Oct 12, 1419
columbus first voyage
On October 12, Rodrigo de Triana, a sailor aboard the Pinta, first sighted land. Columbus himself later claimed that he had seen a sort of light or aura before Triana did, allowing him to keep the reward he had promised to give whomever spotted land first. -
Sep 19, 1420
Prince Henry the Navagator
Prince Henry (Henrique) the Navigator (1394-1460) 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 (Joao Goncalves Zarco, 1420), rounded Cape Bojador (Eannes, 1434), sailed to Cape Blanc (Nuno Tristao, 1441), sailed around Cap Vert (1455), and went as far as the Gambia River (Cadamosto, 1456) and Cape Palm -
Sep 19, 1442
columbus 3rd voyedg
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. -
Jul 1, 1467
vasco de gama reaches india
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. Da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, in July 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored at Malindi on the east coast of Africa. -
May 15, 1502
columbus 4th voyedge
On May 11, 1502, Christopher Columbus set out on his fourth and final voyage to the New World. He had four ships and his mission 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. Columbus and his men were stranded on Jamaica for about a year before being rescued. They returned to Spain in late 150 -
Sep 10, 1519
cortez lamds in mexico
cortez arrived in mexico in 1519 by A Spanish expedition consisting of 11 ships is setting sail westward in hopes of expanding the Empire. News had reached Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, that some of his men had found land past the oceanic horizon where the sun sets. -
henry hudsone sail up the hudsone river
How did the Hudson River in New York and New Jersey get its name? On the misty morning of September 3, 1609, explorer Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon sailed into the majestic river off the Atlantic coast by chance. -
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas (Portuguese: Tratado de Tordesilhas, Spanish: Tratado de Tordesillas), signed at Tordesillas (now in Valladolid province, Spain), 7 June 1494, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 Castillian leagues (approximately 2,061 kilometres (1,281 mi)) west of the Cape Verde islands (off the west coast of Africa).
