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-Prince Henry funds voyages along the African cost to expand trade and navigation knowledge.
-Portugal Develops new navigational tools and shops designs, including the caravel. -
-The Ottoman Empire conquers Constantinople, cutting off overland trade routes between Europe and Asia.
-European Nations began Seeking sea routes to access Asian goods like spices, silk and gold -
- Dias becomes the first European to reach the southern top of Africa, opening a sea path toward Asia.
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-European contact spreads smallpox, measles, and typhus among Indigenous peoples, killing up to 90% of populations.
-Crops, animals, and goods (like horses, corn, potatoes, and sugar) circulate globally. -
-Backed by Spain's monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, Columbus sails west seeking Asia and lands in the Caribbean.
-Marks the beginning of the Spanish colonization in the Americas -
-Pope sponsored agreement divides new territories between Spain and Portugal.
Lands east of the line go to Portugal; lands west go to Spain -
-Opens direct trade between Europe and Asia by sea.
-Portuguese gain access to spices, porcelain, and textiles -
-Magellan's expedition (Spanish) becomes the first to sail around the world.
-Proves global connectivity and expands global trade networks.
Magellan is killed in the Philippines; only 18 of 237 men return to Spain -
-Cortes invades Mexico, allies with rival tribes and conquers Tenochtitlan.
-Spain begins controlling Central America and exploiting local resources. -
-Pizarro captures the Inca emperor Atahualpa and takes control of the Andean region.
-Spain gains access to immense silver wealth, particularly Potosi mines (1545) -
-England enters the global race for trade and territory.
-Key Figures like Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Richard Grenville. -
-European empires expand trade networks across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
The Columbian Exchange reshapes economies, diets, and environments globally.
-European wealth grows rapidly, fueled by exploitation, enslavement and colonization.