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First Chinese Ships reach Africa
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Navigation by the stars is greatly improved
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Prince Henry the Navigator organizes a School of Navigation and base for explorations on Cape St. Vinvent in Portugal.
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Colombus discovers the American continent but believe it is part of Asia
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The last of Columbus' four voyages to the New World
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A new map of the worlduses the name "America" for the newly discovered southern continent in honor of Amerigo Vespuchi
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Balboa croses the Isthmus of Panama and discovers the Pacific Ocean. ponce de Leon lands in Florida.
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Smallpox brought by Europeans begins to wipe out native populations in the Americas.
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Magellan leaves Spain with the five ships to find a "southwestern passage" to Asia.
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Magellan rounds Cape Horn and enters the Pacific
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The last remaining of Magellan's five ships, with its crew of seventeen men, returns to Spain, ending the first voyage around the world.