European Explorer Timeline By Mack.N Feb 2, 1418 • Prince Henry starts a navigation school Feb 2, 1451 Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa Feb 2, 1492 Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean Feb 2, 1494 Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas May 20, 1497 Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut on the Indian Ocean Feb 2, 1521 Ferdinand Magellan leads a Spanish expedition to the Philippines Feb 2, 1565 • Spain begins settlements in the Philippines Feb 2, 1602 France sets up its own East India Company Jan 1, 1603 The Dutch establish a trading center on Java