Age of European Exploration and Discovery By yyu1230 1400 Turkish Empire cut off the land route for spices from Asia to Europe; search for sea route began. 1418 Prince Henry the Navigator founded school for sailors 1462 Pêro de Sintra reached Sierra Leone 1473 Lopo Gonçalves was the first to cross the equator 1488 Bartolomeu Dias reached the southern tip of Africa 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World Jun 7, 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas (Spain & Portugal) for settling conflicts over lands discovered or explored by Christopher Columbus and other late 15th-century voyagers; Line of Demarcation 1500 Portugal claimed Brazil 1511 Portugal captured Malacca 1519 Hernan Cortés landed in Mexico 1522 Ferdinand Magellan and his crew sailed around the world Nov 16, 1532 Francisco Pizarro executed the last Inca emperor 1600 The English founded the East India Company (1600-1708) 1602 The Dutch founded the Dutch East India Company.