The Age of Exploration: Pathways to Globalization

  • Period: 1419 to 1460

    1419 - Prince Henry the Navigator begins Portugal's explorations & School of Navigation

    This marked the start of the European overseas exploration along Africa's coast. The school advanced mapmaking, shipbuilding, and exploration along Africa’s coast.
  • Period: 1492 to 1504

    Christopher Columbus' Voyages

    This connected Europe to the Americas, which helped to launch the Columbian Exchange and massive global changes.
  • 1494

    Treaty of Tordesillas

    This divided the New World between Spain and Portugal which shaped future colonization patterns.
  • Period: 1497 to 1499

    Vasco da Gama's Voyage to India

    The first successful sea voyage from Europe to India, establishing direct trade routes.
  • Period: 1519 to 1522

    Ferdinand Magellan's Circumnavigation

    The first expedition to sail around the world, proving Earth's circumference and global connectivity.
  • Period: 1519 to 1521

    Hernán Cortés Conquers the Aztec Empire

    Spanish conquest that reshaped the Americas and expanded European influence.
  • Period: 1532 to 1533

    Francisco Pizarro Conquers the Inca Empire

    Spanish expanded control in South America, gaining immerse wealth from silver and gold.
  • The British East India Company was founded

    This helped England establish dominance in Asian trade and global commerce.
  • The Dutch East Indian Company was founded

    This became one of the most powerful trading companies, controlling trade routes in Asia.
  • The first enslaved African Americans arrived in Virginia

    This marked the beginning of centuries of the Atlantic slave trade in North America.