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May 20, 1451
• Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean
Columbus landed in the Bahamas and later explored much of the Caribbean, including the isles of Cuba and Espanola as well as the coasts of Central and South America. He never reached the present-day U.S.A. -
Mar 12, 1488
• Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa
The voyages of explorer Diogo Cao in 1485 had taken Portuguese ships far down the western coast of Africa to Cape Cross, almost to the southern tip of the continent. King John II of Portugal, who was attempting to revive his country’s leadership in voyages of exploration, decided to send a new expedition to determine if it was possible to sail all the way around Africa. For commander of the voyage he chose Bartolomeu Dias, a knight of the royal household. Dias was descended from an old seafaring -
Jan 7, 1494
• Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas was intended to resolve the dispute that had been created following the return of Christopher Columbus. In 1481 -
May 20, 1498
• Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut on the Indian Ocean
Vasco da Gama was born about 1460 at Sines, Portugal. Both Prince John and Prince Manuel continued the efforts of Prince Henry to find a sea route to India, and in 1497 Manuel placed Vasco da Gama, who already had some reputation as a warrior and navigator, in charge of four vessels built especially for the expedition. They set sail July 8, 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope four months later, and reached Calicut May 20, 1498. The Moors in Calicut instigated the Zamorin of Calicut against him, -
Apr 17, 1521
Ferdinand Magellan leads a Spanish epedition to the Philoippines
Magellan Portuguese in the service of the Spanish crown, was looking for a westward route to the to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. On March 16, 1521, Magellan's expedition landed on Homonhon island in the Philippines. He was the first European to reach the islands. Rajah Humabon of Cebu was friendly with Magellan and embraced Christianity, but their enemy, Lapu-Lapu was not. Humabon wanted Magellan to kill Lapu-Lapu while Magellan wanted to convert Lapu-Lapu into Christianity. On April 17, 1521 -
• The Dutch establish a trading center on Java
Netherlands only controlled the Hudson River Valley from 1609 until 1664, in that short time, Dutch entrepreneurs established New Netherland, a series of trading posts, towns, and forts up and down the Hudson River that laid the groundwork for towns that still exist today. Fort Orange, the northernmost of the Dutch outposts -
• France sets up its own East India Company
Planned by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, it was chartered by King Louis XIV for the purpose of trading in the Eastern Hemisphere. -
• Prince Henry starts a navigation school
About 1418, Prince Henry started the first school for oceanic navigation along with an astronomical observatory at Sagres, Portugal. In this school, people were trained in nagivation, map-making, and science, in order to sail down the west of Africa.
