Europeans explore the east

By user15
  • Jan 31, 1418

    The Dutch establish a trading center on Java

    Prince Henry started the first school for oceanic navigation and in this school, people were trained in nagivation, map-making, and science, in order to sail down the west of Africa.
  • Oct 12, 1472

    Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean

    Columbus landed in the Bahamas and later explored much of the Caribbean, including the isles of Juana and Espanola, as well as the coasts of Central and South America.
  • Jan 31, 1488

    Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa.

    Bartolomeu Dias was a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer who sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so.
  • Jan 31, 1492

    Spain begins settlements in the Philippines

    In 1492, the Spanish monarchs completed the Reconquista with the incorporation of Granada to the Kingdom of Castile.
  • Jun 7, 1494

    Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas.

    The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian.
  • May 20, 1498

    • Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut on the Indian Ocean

    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.
  • Mar 16, 1521

    Ferdinand Magellan leads a Spanish expedition to the Philippines.

    On March 16, 1521, Magellan's expedition landed on Homonhon island in the Philippines. He was the first European to reach the islands.

  • France sets up its own East India Company.

    Between 1602 and 1796 the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships, and netted for their efforts more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods.

  • The Dutch establish a trading center on Java.

    In 1603, the first permanent Dutch trading post in Indonesia was established in Banten, West Java and in 1611, another was established at Jayakarta.