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Prince Henry started the first school for oceanic navigation along with an astronomical observatory at Sagres, Portugal.
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Bartholomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa.
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Christopher Columbus sailed west with three small ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María.
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Ferdinand and Isabella appealed to the Pope to support their claim to the lands of the new world.
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Treay of Todersillas was signed between Spain and Portugal.
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John Cabot sailed to Canada, commanding a small ship called "Matthew" at the request of King Henry VII of England.
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Vasco da Gama led four ships aroudnthe Cape of Good Hope.
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Prices began to rise in many parts of Europe.
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Francis I of France declared, "I should like to see Adam's will, wherein he divided the Earth between Spain and Portugal."
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Affonso I called on the Portuguese to help him develop Kongo as a modern Christian state.
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Amerigo Vespucci wrote a journal describing his voyage to Brazil.
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Martin Waldseemüller used Vespucci's descriptions of is voyage to publish a map of the region.
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Afonso de Abuquerque burned coastal towns and crushed Arab fleets at sea.
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Portuguese seized the island of Goa off the coast of India, making it thier major military and commercial base.
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Portuguese ships first reached China from their base in Malacca.
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Hernan Cortez landed on the coast of Mexico with about 600 men, 16 horses, and a few cannons.
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Magellan's expedition circumnavigates the globe.
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Francisco Pizarro arrived in Peru, just after the Incan ruler had won the throne from his brother in a bloody civil war.
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Jacques Cartier sailed to North America on behalf of France to find spices, gold, and a passage to Asia.
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Bartolome de Las Casas persuaded Spain to pass the New Laws of the Indies, which forbade enslavements and abuse of Native Americans.
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Portuguese reached Japan, followed by Spanish, Dutch, and English.
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Matteo Ricci made a particularly strong impression on the Chinese, but had little success spreading their religious beliefs in China.
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Dutch fleet returned to Amsterdam from Asia after more than a year's absence.
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The Dutch establish the Dutch East India Company.
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The Tokugawas come to power in Japan.
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English built their first permanent colony at Jamestown,Virginia.
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The first permanent French settlement was Quebec, settled by Samuel de Chaplain
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The first cargo of African slaves arrives in Virginia.
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Japan bars foreign merchants from the country.
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The Dutch take Malacca from the Portuguese.
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Dutch farmers called Boers, settled around Cape Town. They ousted, enslaved, or killed the people who lived there.
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The reign of Chinese emperor Qianlong begins.
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Olaudah Equiano writes a book about his experiences during the Atlantic slave trade.
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The Seven Years' War breaks out between Britain and France.
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The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the French and Indian War.
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The British established the African Association- an organization that sponsored explorers to Africa.
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Lord Macartney arrived in China at the head of a British diplomatic mission. He brought samples of British-made goods to show the Chinese the advantages of trade with Westerners.
