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Jan 1, 1418
Prince Henry starts a navigation school
The school taught navigation, map making and science. It was located in Sagres, Portugal -
Feb 2, 1488
Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa
Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias became the first European mariner to round the southern tip of Africa. The furthest point was reached on March 12, 1488. -
Oct 2, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean
Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the Caribbean while searching for a new trade route to China and India. He thought he was in Eastern Asia. -
Jun 7, 1494
Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas
It divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands. This line of demarcation was about halfway between the Cape Verde Islands (already Portuguese) and the islands discovered by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage (claimed for Spain). -
May 20, 1498
Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut on the Indian Ocean
Vasco tried to buy the rights to set up a merchant port in the port of Calicut, but was denied. He had a crew of 170 people. -
Mar 16, 1521
Ferdinand Magellan leads a Spanish expedition to the Philippines
Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese in the service of the Spanish crown, was looking for a westward route 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. On April 17, 1521, Magellan sailed to Mactan and ensuing battle killed Magellan by the natives lead by Lapu-Lapu. Out of the five ships and more than 300 men who left on the Magellan expedition in 1519, only one ship (the Victo -
Feb 13, 1565
Spain begins settlements in the Philippines
Spanish colonization and settlement began with the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi's expedition; who established the first permanent settlement of San Miguel on the island of Cebu. -
The Dutch establish a trading center on Java
The Dutch recognized potential in the East Indies spice trade so the Dutch Government combined the competing merchant companies into the United East India Company. -
France sets up its own East India Company
The company was set up to compete with the British and Dutch East Indian Trade Companies, but it was overall unsuccessful.
