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Launches Portugal’s sustained Atlantic push and exploration down the African coast.
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Cheap print multiplies maps, portolans, and navigation manuals, lowering voyage risk and spreading scientific technique.
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Demonstrates an Atlantic route into the Indian Ocean, upending overland trade patterns.
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Connects Old and New Worlds, triggering the Columbian Exchange of crops, animals, people, and pathogens.
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Spain and Portugal divide new spheres; the papal-sanctioned split spurs Protestant rivals to contest at sea.
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Opens direct Europe–Asia sea trade, enabling a Portuguese oceanic empire.
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First global voyage proves continuous seas and improves world cartography.
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Silver from the Americas flows to Asia via Manila–Acapulco, creating the first sustained trans-Pacific trade.
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Early multinational joint-stock model blends state power with private capital to scale globalization.
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Reorders global empires and trade routes, setting conditions for modern imperial and commercial networks.