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Jan 1, 1100
Ghana was a powerful trading empire
1100 - 1299
They rose to power when they discovered gold.
Metalworkers made weapons out of iron.
Ghana controlled most of West Africa before the Mali empire rose to power. -
Jan 1, 1300
Mali empire formed
1300 - 1399
After Ghana lost control, the Mali empire took over.
They controlled the gold and salt supplies and were very wealthy.
The Mali people were muslims.
They made Timbuktu a central trading location.
By the mid-1400s, the Mali empire began to fall after its leader passed away. -
Jan 1, 1390
China stops trade on Silk Road
In the 1300s, the Chinese emporer stopped trade on the Silk Road so that outsiders could not get into China. He thought it would make China safer. -
Jan 1, 1400
Songhai empire rose to power
1400 - 1499
After the Mali empire fell, the Songhai empire gained power because of a great general named Askia Mohammed.
They captured enemies and sold them as slaves.
Selling slaves became a major business.
They created a system of banking and started an educational system.
Most people were farmers, but others made tools, created art, or traded goods. -
Period: Jan 1, 1400 to
Renaissance in Europe
Europeans were learning more about art and science and traveling. Governments were changing. These things might lead to some motives for exploration. -
Jan 1, 1450
Printing Press Invented
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. It made it easier to print books. This allowed more books to be made. Europeans read about explorers' travels and became interested in foreign places and things. -
Jan 1, 1453
Turks capture Constantinople
The Turks captured the important trading city of Constantinople. This gave the Turks control of the Middle East, and they closed the trade routes to Asia. Now there was no way for Eurpopeans to get Asian goods. -
Jan 1, 1481
Ottoman Empire blocks Europe from the Indies by land
The Ottoman Empire sent warriors to block the Silk Road. Explorers had to find new ways to exchange goods. -
Jan 1, 1488
Dias sails around the tip of Africa
Dias commanded a fleet of three ships. In 1488 the ships reached southern Africa, and a storm blew them out to sea. When the winds died down and the sky cleared, Dias realized that the storm had blown the ships around the east coast of the continent. He and his crew had become the first Europeans to sail around the southern tip of Africa! -
Jan 1, 1492
Columbus landed in North America
Christopher Columbus sailed west to find a faster route to Asia. He ended up in San Salvador (now known as the West Indies). -
Jan 1, 1497
Caboto landed in Newfoundland
Giovanni Caboto sailed toward China. He ended up in New Foundland, which was a great fishing area. -
Jan 1, 1498
Da Gama reaches India
Da Gamma sailed around the Cape of Good Hope with four ships. He brought back to Portugal perfumes, silks, spices, and other goods that he had traded for in India. -
Jan 1, 1500
Africans began working with explorers
Pedro Alonzo Nino was a black pilot on Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria. -
Jan 1, 1500
Vespucci realizes that new continents exist
Amerigo Vespucci sailed down the coast of South America to look for signs that he reached Asia. He doubted that Columbus had reached the Indies. Then he realized that there was a new continent (later named America after him). -
Jan 1, 1513
Balboa discovered a new ocean past North America
Vasco Nunez de Balboa set out to prove Vespucci's idea that there was an unknown continent. He crossed the Isthmus of Panama and discovered an unfamiliar ocean (now known as the Pacific Ocean). -
Jan 1, 1513
Ponce de Leon lands in Florida
Juan Ponce de Leon went searching for the Fountain of Youth (said to make you live forever). He landed and took over Puerto Rico. Then he landed in what is now called Florida and claimed the land for Spain. -
Jan 1, 1519
Cortez takes over the Aztec Empire
Hernando Cortez was sent to the Aztec Empire to take their gold. They took down the temples with the help of Indians and destroyed the Aztec city. They used Indian laborers to establish farms and towns. -
Jan 1, 1522
Magellan voyages to South America (dies)
Ferdinand Magellan wanted to prove Columbus's theory about a western passage to the Indies. He ended up in South America and passed through what is now the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean. He later was killed, but his crew became the first men to sail around the world. 250 went - only 18 returned. -
Sir Walter Raleigh's colonists land on Roanoke Island
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John White returned to Roanoke
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English colonists land at Jamestown
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Quebec became France's first important settlement
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John Rolfe developed a successful tobacco crop
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House of Burgesses meets for the first time
