vasco da gama explorer

columbus

Jan 1, 1493

Columbus spent several months cruising the islands of the Caribbean. Because he thought he had reached the Indies, he called the people of the region "Indians

columbus

Jan 1, 1493

He returned to Spain to a hero's welcome. In three later voyages, Columbus remained convinced that he reached the coast of East Asia. Before long, other Europeans realized he had found a route to previously unknown continents.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Jan 1, 1494

The specific terms of the Line of Demarcation were agreed to in the Treat of Tordesillas, signed between the two countries in 1494. The tready made it obvious to both Spain and Portugal that they needed to build their own empires quickly.

seeking india

Jan 1, 1497

Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama followed in Dias's footsteps, leading 4 ships around the Cape of Good Hope. Da Gama had plans to go further. After a ten-month voyage, da Gama reached the great spice port of Calicut on the west coast of India. On the long voyage home, the Portuguese lost half their ships, and many sailors died of hunger, thirst, and scurvy.

vasco da gama

Jan 1, 1502

In 1502, he forced a treaty on the ruler of Calicut. Da Gama then left Portuguese merchants there whose job was to buy spices when prices were low and store them until the next fleet could return.

vasco da gama

Jan 1, 1502

In India, da Gama had acquired a cargo of spices that he sold at an enormous profit. He quickly outfitted a new fleet, seeking greater profits.

the search for direct routes

Jan 1, 1513

Though Europenans had claimed vast new territories, they had not yet found a direct route to Asia. Spanish adventurer Vasco Nunez de Balboa, helped by Indians, hacked a passage westward through the tropical forests of Panama. From a ridge on the west coast, he gazed at a huge body of water, the Pacific Ocean.

Ferdinand Magellan

Jan 20, 1519

A minor portuguese mobelman named Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain with five ships to find a way to reach the Pacific. His ships sailed south and west, through storms and calms and tropical heat. At last, his fleet reached the coast of South America. Carefully, they explored each bay, hoping to find one that would lead to the Pacific.

magellan

Mar 1, 1527

Magellan insisted that his crew push across the Pacific to the East Indies on the return voyage home. Three more weeks, he thought, would bring them to the Spice Islands.

african slave trade

Jan 1, 1532

In the 1500s and 1600s Europeans began to view slaves as the most important item of African trade. Africans were being taken directly from Africa and transported to the new year as slaves.