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Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias leads the first European expedition to the Cape of Good hope opening the sea route to Asia from the Atlantic and Indian oceans. -
Christopher Columbus arrives on the shores of the Americas opening up a new world to be explored. -
The Treaty of Tordesillas is signed dividing the world in half. Giving territories east of the line to Portugal and west of the line to Spain -
Vasco da Gama becomes to travel from Europe to India by rounding the newly discovered Cape of Good Hope proving the route is possible. The new route introduced new competition to Europe. -
John Cabot makes the earliest known European exploration of the coasts of North America on behalf of England. -
Portuguese sea captain Pedro Álvares Cabal lands in South America becoming the first European to reach Brazil and establishing claim to what would later be known as Brazil. -
Amerigo Vespucci figured out that Columbus actually landed on a new continent. The name America comes from Amerigo Vespucci's name -
Hernán Cortés along with 550 soldiers, 16 horses, and the help of nearby city states conquers the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. As a result, Spain control of Mexico. -
Ferdinand Magellan's crew arrive back at Spain becoming the first to travel completely around the globe -
In January 1524, he sailed the aboard the La Dauphine and explored the eastern coast of north America. He made several discoveries including present day New York and the Narragansett Bay. -
Francisco Pizzaro conquers the Inca and executes their leader, Atahualpa. Furthering Spain's control of South America. -
French explorer Jacques Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence river claiming the area for France. -
Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto while exploring southeastern United States becomes the first European to reach the Mississippi river. Exploring the Americas further than ever before. -
Francis Drake becomes the second person to circumnavigate the world preying on Spanish ships along the way. Francis Drake's accomplishment shows how circumnavigating the world has become easier. -
The East India Company is established as a trading body for English Merchants specifically to participate in the East Indian spice trade. It expanded international trade. -
The Dutch East India Company is established to protect the Dutch Republic's trade in the Indian ocean and to assist the Dutch war of independence. -
Along his voyage, Dutch explorer Willem Janzoon maps the coast of Australia and discovers a new continent. -
The first permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia -
Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec, the first permanent French settlement in the Americas. -
Henry Hudson in search of northeast passage to Asia sails through the Hudson Straight and reaches the Hudson Bay. Mapping many waterways in North America.