Europeans Explore the East

Prince Henry starts a navigation school

Sep 27, 1418

Portuguese royal prince, soldier, and patron of explorers.

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

Dec 24, 1469

Was a Portuguese explorer.

Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean

Oct 12, 1472

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.

Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa

May 29, 1488

A nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer who sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488.

Spain begins settlements in the Philippines

Jan 31, 1492

In 1492, the Spanish monarchs completed the Reconquista with the incorporation of Granada to the Kingdom of Castile

Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas

Jun 7, 1494

Divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagues.

Ferdinand Magellan leads a Spanish expedition to the Philippines

Mar 16, 1521

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

Jan 31, 1602

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

Jan 31, 1603

When the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia.