-
Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain, the last one taking place in 1502. He stumbled on the Americas when he went searching for a water route to Asia. This opened the door for other explorers to start exploring.
-
Cabot traveled by sea with the intention of finding a shorter route to Asia from Europe. After traveling north and west on a 50-day voyage, he landed on the east coast of North America, specifically Canada, which he mistook for Asia. He claimed the land for King Henry VII of England.
-
Da Gama set sail with his crew and four ships to find a sea route to Asia. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, then into the Indian Ocean towards the southwest coast of India. He brought back spices and gems. His trips were significant because he found a faster and cheaper way to get spices.
-
Portugal’s rivalry with Spain pushed them to build a strong trading empire throughout the Indian Ocean region. They took control of the spice trade and extended their control over the region when they defeated a Muslim fleet off the coast of India and when they built a fort at Hormuz in 1514. The fort established control of the Straits of Hormuz and connected the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. It also prevented Muslim traders from reaching India.
-
The first African slaves were brought to the Americas on a Spanish ship. This led to dramatic growth in the numbers of enslaved people brought over. The trade for enslaved people became a part of the triangular trade: the trade between Africa, Asia, and Europe.
-
After persuading the King of Spain to finance his voyage to Asia through the Western hemisphere, he set sail in September in search of a sea passage through America. In October 1520, he passed through what is later known as the Strait of Magellan and reached the Philippines. But when he landed, he was killed by the natives there and only one of his ships returned to Spain. He was still remembered as the first person to circumnavigate the globe.
-
Hernán Cortés and a troop under his command landed at Veracruz. He and his troop marched to Tenochtitlá, where the Aztec King was. On his way, he made alliances with city-states who were tired of being under the rule of the Aztecs and wanted to be independent. One of these alliances was with the Tlaxcala. In November, he reached Tenochtitlá and was welcomed by the monarch, Montezuma, and the Aztecs. But eventually, tensions rose between the two parties.
-
A year after Cortés’ arrival, the local Aztecs drove the foreigners away from the city. In the process, many of the Spanish were killed. But soon after the Spanish fled Mexico, the Aztecs fell ill to a European disease, smallpox, which they had no immunity to. Meanwhile, Cortés received soldiers from an ally, the Tlaxcala, and returned. After four months of fighting, the city of Aztec surrendered.
-
Verrazzano's ship, named Delfina, was the only ship out of the four that set sail to make it to the New World. He looked for a passage to the Pacific Ocean and Asia like many others did, but instead, he sailed along the coastline of the New World, which would add greatly to the knowledge of mapmakers in terms so of the geography of the East coast of North America.
-
Francisco Pizarro landed on the pacific coast of South America. At the time, the Inca Empire was an epidemic of smallpox. The emperor was a victim and soon died, leaving his 2 sons to fight over the throne. This led to a civil war where Atahuallpa, one of the sons, won. Pizarro took advantage of the situation, capturing and executing Atahuallpa. Pizarro and his troops then marched on Cuzco and captured the Inca capital, and by 1535, he had established a new colony for the Spanish Empire.
-
On his first voyage to the Americas, Cartier explored the Canadian Coast and St. Lawrence River before sailing back to France. On his second voyage, the king gave him more ships and men to sail back to the New World, where he claimed land in Canada for France.
-
After Queen Isabella declared Native Americans to be her subjects, she granted Spanish settlers the Encomienda. The Encomienda was the right of landowners to use Native Americans as labor workers, but they have to protect them. However, the Spanish settlers disregarded their government's order and did not try to protect the Indians. The Native Americans were forced into labor and suffered from starvation and diseases.
-
Drake was best known for circumnavigating Earth. His expedition was intended to pass around South America through the Strait of Magellan and to explore the other coast. His ship successfully made its way to the Pacific. Along the way, he attacked and stole valuables from passing Spanish ships. He said he went looking for the Northwest Passage but ended up coasting southward. He claimed the surrounding country for Queen Elizabeth.
-
The Dutch decided to launch their first expedition to undermine the Portuguese, who controlled the European spice trade because they felt threatened. The first Dutch fleet arrived in India in 1595 and successfully brought backhauls of spices. This led to the formation of East India Company and the Dutch became a rival of the Portuguese and Spanish.
-
The East India Company was set up by British merchants that wanted to trade with a region called the East Indies. Merchants wanted to bring luxury goods, such as pepper, cloves, cinnamon, silks, cotton, etc. into Europe.
-
The Dutch East India Company was created in 1602 with the main purpose of trading, exploration, and colonization. It was sponsored by the Dutch government with the hopes of stabilizing profits in the spice trade. It was also given the power to build forts, have armies, and make treaties.
-
The French became active in North America and colonized parts of what is now known as Canada and Louisiana. Samuel de Champlain made 21-29 trips across the Atlantic and founded the first permanent French settlement in the Americas, Quebec. Meantime, the English were also settling; they founded Virginia and the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
-
Hudson went on an expedition to find the “northwest passage”. After having to turn back around on multiple voyages before, he decided to ignore the harsh conditions and head towards the New World. He traveled south along the Atlantic coast and into a great river. He went up the river about 150 miles before deciding it wouldn't lead to the Pacific Ocean and turned around. The river would be named after him from that point on.
-
After the French and English began to colonize the land in the Americas, the rivalry between the two led to the fall of the Dutch commercial empire. In 1664, the English seized New Netherlands and the colony was renamed New York. The Dutch West India Company soon became bankrupt.
-
Cook led the first scientific expedition to the Pacific. He charted New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, which has been credited as one of the world’s most dangerous areas to navigate.
