Curated timeline

Age of Discovery

Set sail with the explorers who connected the globe. Covers the voyages of Columbus, Da Gama, and Magellan, the Columbian Exchange, and the beginnings of global colonialism.

• Conquest of Ceuta (August 21, 1415)

  Portugal captures Ceuta, launching maritime expansion under Prince Henry the Navigator.

• Discovery of Madeira (1419)

  Portuguese explorers rediscover and settle Madeira, establishing Atlantic outposts.

• Rounding of Cape Bojador (1434)

  Gil Eanes sails past Cape Bojador, opening African coastal exploration.

• Discovery of the Cape of Good Hope (1488)

  Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope, proving a sea route to the Indian Ocean.

• Columbus's Discovery of the Americas (October 12, 1492)

  Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean, sparking European colonization of the Americas.

• Treaty of Tordesillas (June 7, 1494)

  Spain and Portugal divide new lands via a meridian west of Cape Verde.

• John Cabot's North American Voyage (June 24, 1497)

  John Cabot reaches Newfoundland, claiming it for England.

• Vasco da Gama Reaches India (May 20, 1498)

  Vasco da Gama arrives in Calicut, establishing the first direct sea route to India.

• Discovery of Brazil (April 22, 1500)

  Pedro Álvares Cabral reaches Brazil, claiming it for Portugal.

• Amerigo Vespucci's South American Voyages (1502)

  Amerigo Vespucci maps South America, recognizing it as a new continent.

• Discovery of the Pacific Ocean (September 25, 1513)

  Vasco Núñez de Balboa crosses Panama, first European to see the Pacific from the Americas.

• Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire (August 13, 1521)

  Hernán Cortés defeats the Aztec Empire, securing Mexico for Spain.

• First Circumnavigation of the Globe (September 6, 1522)

  Magellan's expedition, completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano, circumnavigates the globe.

• Verrazzano's North American Exploration (1524)

  Giovanni da Verrazzano maps North America's east coast for France.

• Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire (November 16, 1532)

  Francisco Pizarro defeats the Inca Empire, claiming Peru for Spain.

• Jacques Cartier's Canadian Voyages (1534)

  Jacques Cartier explores the St. Lawrence River, claiming Canada for France.

• Coronado Expedition (1540)

  Francisco Vásquez de Coronado searches for gold, exploring the American Southwest.

• Discovery of California (September 28, 1542)

  Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explores California's coast, first European to see San Diego Bay.

• Drake's Circumnavigation (September 26, 1580)

  Francis Drake completes the second global circumnavigation, raiding Spanish ships.

• Roanoke Colony (1585)

  England establishes Roanoke, its first North American colony, later becomes the 'Lost Colony'.

• Barentsz Arctic Expeditions (1595)

  Willem Barentsz searches for a Northeast Passage, discovering Spitsbergen.

• Founding of the Dutch East India Company (March 20, 1602)

  Netherlands establishes the VOC, dominating Asian trade and colonization.

• Founding of Jamestown (May 14, 1607)

  England establishes Jamestown, its first permanent North American settlement.

• Founding of Quebec (July 3, 1608)

  Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec City, strengthening French presence in Canada.

• Henry Hudson's Explorations (1609)

  Henry Hudson explores the Hudson River and Hudson Bay for the Dutch.

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