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Jan 1, 1400
Ming Dynasty and Exploration
After Zheng He died, China stopped funding overseas exploration and trade.They felt that no European country had anything to offer.They allowed Portuguese, Dutch, English, and other European countries to trade in their land under heavy regulations.
by the early 1600s, the Ming Dynasty was decaying -
Jan 1, 1400
Europeans Seek Sea Route to Asia
When the Ottoman Turks took control of Constantinople and the surrounding areas, trade between Europe and Asia came to a complete halt, prompting the European nations to seek another route to their Asian trading partners; thus, they began looking for a sea route. -
Jan 1, 1400
Prince Henry the Navigator
He was a Portuguese royal prince, soldier, and patron of explorers. He is responsible for the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents through the systematic exploration of Western Africa, the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, and the search for new routes. -
Period: Jan 1, 1400 to Jan 1, 1499
Europeans Search For New Routes to Asia
The overland route is controlled by Muslims and the Euopeans take to the seas to try to find a better route to trade with Asia. -
Jan 1, 1492
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. He was in search of Southeast Asia but came acorss the Americas. This is why he's known to be the one who discovered America. -
Jan 1, 1493
Line of Demarcation
The Line of Demarcation between Spanish and Portuguese territory was first defined by Pope Alexander VI and was later revised by the Treaty of Tordesillas.This happened after Christopher Columbus returned from his maiden voyage to the Americas. -
Jan 1, 1497
Vasco da Gama
He was a Portuguese explorer. He was the first European to reach India by sea, linking Europe and Asia for the first time by ocean route, as well as the Atlantic and the Indian oceans entirely and definitively, and in this way, the West and the Orient. This was accomplished on his first voyage to India (1497–1499). -
Jan 1, 1500
Pedro Alvarez Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral is regarded as the first captain who ever touched four continents, leading the first expedition that united Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. He was appointed to head an expedition to India, following Vasco da Gama's newly opened route around Africa. The object of the undertaking was to return with valuable spices and to establish trade relations in India. -
Jan 1, 1502
Vasco da Gama
The 4th Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. -
Jan 1, 1511
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque, Duke of Goa, was a Portuguese general, a "great conqueror," a statesman, and an empire builder. The Capture of Malacca in 1511 occurred when Alfonso, Portuguese admiral subdued the city of Malacca. -
Jan 1, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth. -
Jan 1, 1521
Spain and the Philippines
Spain took over the Philippines. Magellan had claimed the archipelago for Spain in 1521. Within about 50 years, Spain had conquered and colonized the islands. Spanish priests set out to convert the Filipino people to Christianity. The Spanish shipped silver mined in Mexico and Peru across the Pacific to the Philippines. From there, they used the silver to buy goods in China. -
Sep 6, 1522
Magellan’s Expedition
Magellan was the first European explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic. One ship, the Vittoria, sailed across the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at the Spanish port of SanlÚcar de Barrameda on September 6, 1522, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. -
Jan 1, 1543
Portuguese and Japan
This was the first time Portuegese explorers landed in Japan. The son of a minor daimyo warlord, Intrigued by the Portuguese firearms, the local daimyo warlord bought two guns from the European sailors and commissioned his swordsmith to make copies. Also, Tokugawa Ieyasu gradually rose to prominence. -
The Happy Return
The Dutch returned to Amsterdam from a years absence from staying in Asia. They carried a cargo of pepper, cloves, and other spices. Then church bells rang to celebrate this "Happy Return." The Dutch basically reutrned at an extremely wealthy state. -
The Dutch East India Company
A group of wealthy Dutch Merchants formed the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch wanted to make themselves the major European power in the east. They captured the Malacca from the Portugese and opened trade with China. They were able to enforce a monopoly in the Spice Islands, controlling shipments with Europe and trade with Southeast Asia. -
Japanese Ban Western Merchants
Japanese welcomed western traders initially, but after learning about the Philippines, Japanese shoguns became very suspicious of Europeans and eventually forbid western merchants and forbid other Japanese from traveling abroad.
