Age of Exploration and Globalization

By megansterling23
  • 1000 BCE

    1000 CE – Viking Voyages to North America

    Leif Erikson and the Vikings became the first known Europeans to reach North America, long before Columbus
  • 1419

    1419 – Prince Henry the Navigator’s School in Portugal

    Prince Henry founded a navigation school that trained sailors and encouraged exploration along Africa’s coast.
  • 1492

    1492 – Columbus Reaches the Americas

    Christopher Columbus’s voyage, sponsored by Spain, began lasting contact between Europe and the Americas.
  • 1494

    1494 – Treaty of Tordesillas

    Spain and Portugal divided the non-European world between them, shaping early colonial borders.
  • 1498

    1498 – Vasco da Gama Reaches India

    Da Gama’s voyage opened direct sea trade between Europe and Asia, expanding global trade routes
  • 1519

    1519 Magellan’s Voyage Around the World

    Ferdinand Magellan’s crew completed the first circumnavigation of Earth, proving the planet was round and globally connected.
  • 1521

    1521 – Fall of the Aztec Empire

    Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs, marking a major moment in Spanish colonization
  • 1533

    1533 – Fall of the Incan Empire

    Francisco Pizarro defeated the Incan Empire in Peru, expanding Spanish power in South America.

  • 1600 – British East India Company Founded

    England established the East India Company, which became one of the first major global trading powers.

  • 1609 – Henry Hudson Explores North America

    Hudson explored parts of modern-day New York and Canada, paving the way for future European settlements.