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Prince Henry started the first navigation school where students were trained in navigation, map-making, and science, in order to sail down the west of Africa. Prince Henry was inspired to explore Africa after the successful attack on north Morocco.
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Bartolomeu was a great Portuguese navigator and explorer who led the first European expedition to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. After the breakthrough of bypassing the Cape of Good Hope, productive trading routes from Europe to Asia opened up.
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Christopher Columbus believed that he could reach the Far East by sailing west. He was given three ships: The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. When Columbus reached the Carribean, he was convinced that he reached the Far East.
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The Treaty of Tordesillas was the solution to the dispute over the divided land in the New World between Spain and Portugal. The original boundary line was relocated, so Portugal gained larger portion of South America (Brazil), but Spain had gained control (on paper) most of the New World.
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Vasco da Gama had a reputation as a great warrior and navigator. Prince Manuel then placed Vasco da Gama in charge of four vessels that were especially equipped for the expedition to find a sea route to India.
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Although Ferdinand Magellan was Portuguese, he sailed "under the Spanish flag." He was looking for a westward route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia, but instead, his expedition landed him on Homohon island in the Philippines. This made him the first European to reach the islands.
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The first permament Spanish settlement, which was on Cebu, was founded by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. Spain ruled the Philippines until the Spanish-American War in 1898.
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The Dutch gained control of the Indian Ocean Trade through war. They established the Dutch East India Compony on Java, which became the base of operations.
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It was established by Louis XIV's finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Louis XIV invested in it himself to encourage French mercants and aristocrats to support the company. France's East India Company faced constant confrontation with the Dutch and the English India Companies, and they competed with them for raw materials and markets in Asia and Africa.
