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They were the first to launch exploratory expeditions. Prince Henry the navigator commissions a journey around Africa’s “Cape of Good Hope” to Asia -
Dinis Dias reaches the mouth of the Senegal River, the farthest south any European had traveled at that time. -
Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope, proving that Africa could be circumnavigated -
Christopher Columbus was searching for the East Indies, embarking on a voyage. He discovered the Caribbean instead but still thought it was Asia. -
Spain and Portugal signed the treaty of Tordesillas in which they agreed to honor the line. -
British sought out a western route to Asia for trade. John Cabot found present day Canada and New England. Eventually established colonies in eastern North America. -
Vancouver Núñez de Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and becomes the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. -
Portugal strengthened its hold on the region by building a fort at Hormuz that took place in India. -
Ferdinand Magellan sets out on a voyage to circumnavigate the globe. He is killed in the Philippines, but his crew completes the voyage in 1522 -
France would explore North America at great lengths. They founded the cities of Detroit, St. Louis, and New Orleans. Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River and claimed the region for France. -
Jacques Cartier sails for France to find the Northwest Passage. He reaches Canada and explores its eastern regions. -
Admiral of France, Gaspard de Coligny, made plans to establish new worlds colonies, So the persecuted Huguenots(French Protestants) coreligionist could safely establish themselves. -
Martin Frobisher explores the coast of Canada in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia. -
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. -
The first permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia -
Samuel de Champlain found Quebec City, the first permanent French settlement in North America