Age of Exploration Timeline By canine27 Jan 1, 1000 Vikings Discover Greenland Jan 1, 1405 Zheng He Begins His Voyages in China Jan 1, 1488 Bartholomeu Dias Rounds the Tip of Africa Oct 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus Discovers the West Indies May 2, 1497 John Cabot Discovers Newfoundland May 20, 1498 Vasco da Gama Reaches Calicut, India, After Rounding the Tip of Africa Apr 22, 1500 Pedro Alvarez Cabral Discovers Brazil Sep 8, 1522 Magellan's Ship, the Victoria, Completes the First Circumnavigation of the Globe