Age of Exploration: Portugal and Spain

Henry the Navigator is born in Porto, Portugal

Mar 4, 1394

In 1418, Prince Henry founded the first navigational school along with an astronomical observatory. He organized various expeditions, which resulted in the discovery of the Madeira Islands and the Azores. Later expeditions explored the African coast

Bartolomeu Dias is born in the Algarve, Portugal

Jan 1, 1451

In 1488, he was the first to go around the Cape of Good Hope located at the southern trip of Africa. His journey opened the sea route to the Indian Ocean.

Christopher Columbus is born in Genoa

Oct 31, 1451

Christopher Columbus was a sailor, who convinced Ferdinand and Isabella that he could reach the eastern coast of Asia by crossing the Atlantic Ocean. He received financial backing from the Spanish monarchs. During his first trip he landed in Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola. In later voyages, he explored the Orinoco River in present-day Venezuela and the eastern coast of Central America.

Amerigo Vespucci is born in Florence, Italy

Mar 9, 1454

It's after this explorer that America is named. During his career, he sailed for both the Spanish and the Portuguese. In his first expedition reached the mouth of the Amazon River and explored the coast of South America. He was the first explorer to realize that North and South America were continents separate from Asia.

Vasco da Gama is born in Alentejo, Portugal

Jan 1, 1460

In 1498, he was the first European to arrive at India by sea . The Portuguese established trading posts along the new routes.

Juan Ponce De Leon born in Valladolid, Spain

Nov 17, 1474

In 1493, Ponce de León sailed with Christopher Columbus on Columbus' second voyage to the Americas. He settled on Hispaniola. Later he became the governor of Puerto Rico.
In 1513, he became the first European explorer to set foot in Florida, which he believed to be an island. Ponce De Leon is usually associated with the quest for finding the Fountain of Youth.

Ferdinand Magellan born in Douro, Portugal

Jan 1, 1480

The first voyage around the world In 1519 an expedition of five boats and 250 sailors left Seville. Their goal was to find a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands. In 1520, they found a strait connecting both oceans. It was later named Strait of Magellan. They sailed on to the Philippines. There, Magellan was killed in a fight with the natives. After three years, only eighteen men and one ship returned. They were the first to circumnavigate the world.

Hernan Cortes is born in Medellin, Spain

May 1, 1485

He sailed out to the Dominican Republic in 1504, then on to Cuba in 1511 where he helped Diego Velázquez conquer the island. In 1518, Velázquez made Cortés the head of an expedition to Mexico. Cortés quickly gathered over 300 men and an impressive fleet of ships. He sailed out to sea not long after, despite the fact that an irritated Velázquez had by then changed his mind about his decision to send Cortés. Cortés and his men made landfall at the Yucatan Peninsula in early 1519

Treaty of Tordesillas signed between Spain and Portugal

Jun 7, 1494

Divided the land outside of Europe between Spain and Portugal. The imaginary division was 370 leagues (1,100 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands. Lands to the west of the line (with the exception of Brazil) belonged to Spain. Lands to the east (Asia and Africa) went to Portugal.

Hernan de Soto born in Extremadura, Spain

May 23, 1496

While on Francisco Pizarro's expedition in the early 1530s, de Soto helped conquer Peru. In May, 1539, Hernando de Soto landed near present day Tampa Bay Florida and moved westward, searching for gold and silver. De Soto discovered the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado is born in Salamanca, Spain

May 1, 1510

In 1535, he sailed to Mexico with Antonio de Mendoza, the first viceroy of New Spain. Coronado became governor of New Galicia province, northwest of Mexico City, in 1538
From 1540 to 1542, he led an expedition to the American Southwest in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Cíbola to find gold. During this trip he found the Grand Canyon & the Rio Grande valley, but no gold.