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Portugal launches exploration expeditions to the New World and East Indies -
The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, between Portuguese forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and the Marinid sultanate of Morocco at the city of Ceuta. The city's defenses fell under Portuguese control after a carefully prepared attack, and the successful capture of the city marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire. Ceuta was held under Portuguese control until being transferred to Spain in 1668. -
Infante Dom Henrique (Prince Henry the Navigator) - sailed to the Madeiras and Azores, and south, along the coast of Africa, to the western bulge of Africa (Cabo de Não) -
Spain sends explores on an expedition to explore the New World. -
On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain to find an all-water route to Asia. More than two months later, Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas that he called San Salvador; the natives called it Guanahani. Columbus traveled nearly 3,000 miles in 33 days and then spotted land in the Bahamas. For nearly five months, Columbus explored the Caribbean, particularly the islands of Juana (Cuba) and Hispaniola (Santo Domingo), before returning to Spain. -
Great Britain explores the New World but explores the western route instead -
John Cabot founds present-day Canada & New England -
Giovanni Caboto born in Genoa, citizen of Venice, sailed for England from Bristol, England, in May 20, 1497. Reached Belle Island on the northern coast of Newfoundland, on June 24, 1497. He sailed down the east coast of Newfoundland, to the southern corner, Landing only on Newfoundland, at Belle Island. He never landed again on the coast, before he returned to England on July 30, 1497. -
Magellan relocated to Spain to seek royal support for his venture. When Magellan arrived, he had no connections and spoke little to no Spanish. He soon met another transplanted Portuguese named Diogo Barbosa, and within a year he had married Barbosa’s daughter Beatriz, who gave birth to their son Rodrigo a year later. With a little introducing here and there, soon Magellan secured an appointment to meet the king of Spain -
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain with a fleet of five ships to discover a Western sea route to the Spice Islands. The voyage was long and dangerous, and only one ship returned home three years later. -
France joins the countries race to explore the New World later on. -
France starts to explore present-day US states like Ohio, and Mississippi. -
In 1534, Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, was sent to the New World by King Francis I to discover a new route to Asia and to search for riches. He was the first explorer to discover the St. Lawrence River in what is now Canada. -
As France explores part of Central America France ends up claiming most of present-day Canada. -
Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, wound up capturing and killing the Incan Emperor Atahuapla, and claimed the lands for Spain. Pizarro also led an expedition that conquered the Inca Empire. -
England’s first effort to establish a settlement in the New World ended badly. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh gained a royal charter to found the settlement of Roanoke, located on an island off the coast of North Carolina. Raids by Native American tribes and disease devastated the settlement, and it was eventually abandoned. Still, the Spanish monarchy, determined to eliminate their New World rivals, dispatched the great Spanish Armada in 1588 to attack the British.