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Period: 1450 to 1500
The Caravel was invented
The caravel was a small, highly manoeuvrable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing windward. -
1492
Columbus Lands in America
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator. In 1492, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña ships alongside, hoping to find a new route to India. -
1493
The Columbian Exchange
A phrase coined by historian Alfred Crosby, the "Columbian Exchange" describes the interchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World and the Americas following Columbus' arrival in the Caribbean in 1492. New World meets Old World for the first time since Pangaea split a gazillion years ago. -
1513
Portuguese Traders
Sino-Portuguese relations began when Jorge Álvares arrived in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in 1513. Around then, Portugal established trading activities in southern China, gradually expanded into Macau and paid rent to the Ming Empire. -
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company, officially the United East India Company was a mega corporation founded by a government-directed amalgamation of several rival Dutch trading companies in the early 17th century. It was established on 20 March 1602, as a chartered company to trade with Mughal India during the period of proto-industrialization, from which 50% of textiles and 80% of silks were imported. -
Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680—also known as Popé's Rebellion—was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, present day New Mexico. The Pueblo Revolt killed 400 Spaniards and drove the remaining 2,000 settlers out of the province.