Columbus

Portuguese and Spanish Exploration

By michelle.r.feller
  • Jan 1, 1415

    Prince Henry's Navigators

    Prince Henry's Navigators
    Portuguese navigators under Prince Henry claim surrounding islands and expand to Muslim North Africa, capturing ports on the African coast.
  • Period: Jan 1, 1415 to Sep 8, 1522

    Portuguese and Spanish Exploration

    Portuguese and Spain set out on journeys of exploration and conquering.
  • Jan 1, 1488

    Cape Good Hope

    Cape Good Hope
    Portuguese Bartholomeu Dias traveled around Africa's tip, founding a sea route to Asia through Cape Good Hope.
  • Aug 3, 1492

    Columbus Sets Sail

    Columbus Sets Sail
    Columbus sails west with the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
  • Oct 12, 1492

    Discovering the Caribbean

    Discovering the Caribbean
    Nearly a month after setting sail Columbus' crew spotted the Caribbean, thinking they had reached the Indies.
  • Jan 1, 1493

    Line of Demarcation

    Line of Demarcation
    Ferdinand and Isabella work with Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI to divide the world between the eastern and western hemispheres.
  • Jan 1, 1494

    Treaty of Tordesillas

    Treaty of Tordesillas
    The treaty signed between Spain and Portugal established the Line of Demarcation.
  • Jan 1, 1497

    Spice Ports

    Spice Ports
    Vasco da Gama led Portuguese ships around Cape of Good Hope on a brutal ten-month journey to reach spice ports in Calicut.
  • Jan 1, 1502

    Treaty of Calicut

    Treaty of Calicut
    Da Gama forces a treaty on Calicut's ruler to gain profit and control of the region's spice trade.
  • Jan 1, 1507

    Maritn Waldseemuller's Map

    Maritn Waldseemuller's Map
    German cartographer, Waldseemuller an Italian sea captain's descriptions of his voyage to publish a map with a region labeled
    the "Americas".
  • Jan 19, 1511

    Portuguese Trading Outposts

    Portuguese Trading Outposts
    Portuguese seize ports in the East Indies and start a new trading empire.
  • Jan 1, 1513

    Vasco Nubez de Balboa

    Vasco Nubez de Balboa
    While nations explored North America for a route from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans through the Arctic, Spanish explorer Balboa worked with the Indians to travel through Panama, where he found the South Sea (Pacific Ocean).
  • Sep 20, 1519

    Magellan Sets Sail

    Magellan Sets Sail
    Ferdinand Magellean leaves Spain with five ships in search of the Pacific before reaching South America's coast.
  • Nov 19, 1520

    Strait of Magellan

    Strait of Magellan
    At South America's tip Magellan find a passage, known as the Strait of Magellan, into Balboa's South Sea and renames it the Pacific.
  • Mar 19, 1521

    Magellan at the Philippines

    Magellan at the Philippines
    Magellan's crew finally reaches the Philippines after a four-month journey acroos the Pacific, where Magellan is killed.
  • Sep 8, 1522

    First Circumnavigators

    First Circumnavigators
    18 sailors, Magellan's surviving crew return to Spain being the first to sail around the world.