Columbus ships

Age of Encounters (1400s & 1500s)

  • Ghana was a powerful trading empire
    Jan 1, 1100

    Ghana was a powerful trading empire

    1100 - 1299
    They rose to power when they discovered gold.
    Metalworkers made weapons out of iron.
    Ghana controlled most of West Africa before the Mali empire rose to power.
  • Mali empire formed
    Jan 1, 1300

    Mali empire formed

    1300 - 1399
    After Ghana lost control, the Mali empire took over.
    They controlled the gold and salt supplies and were very wealthy.
    The Mali people were muslims.
    They made Timbuktu a central trading location.
    By the mid-1400s, the Mali empire began to fall after its leader passed away.
  • China stops trade on Silk Road
    Jan 1, 1390

    China stops trade on Silk Road

    In the 1300s, the Chinese emporer stopped trade on the Silk Road so that outsiders could not get into China. He thought it would make China safer.
  • Songhai empire rose to power
    Jan 1, 1400

    Songhai empire rose to power

    1400 - 1499
    After the Mali empire fell, the Songhai empire gained power because of a great general named Askia Mohammed.
    They captured enemies and sold them as slaves.
    Selling slaves became a major business.
    They created a system of banking and started an educational system.
    Most people were farmers, but others made tools, created art, or traded goods.
  • Period: Jan 1, 1400 to

    Renaissance in Europe

    Europeans were learning more about art and science and traveling. Governments were changing. These things might lead to some motives for exploration.
  • Printing Press Invented
    Jan 1, 1450

    Printing Press Invented

    Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. It made it easier to print books. This allowed more books to be made. Europeans read about explorers' travels and became interested in foreign places and things.
  • Turks capture Constantinople
    Jan 1, 1453

    Turks capture Constantinople

    The Turks captured the important trading city of Constantinople. This gave the Turks control of the Middle East, and they closed the trade routes to Asia. Now there was no way for Eurpopeans to get Asian goods.
  • Ottoman Empire blocks Europe from the Indies by land
    Jan 1, 1481

    Ottoman Empire blocks Europe from the Indies by land

    The Ottoman Empire sent warriors to block the Silk Road. Explorers had to find new ways to exchange goods.
  • Dias sails around the tip of Africa
    Jan 1, 1488

    Dias sails around the tip of Africa

    Dias commanded a fleet of three ships. In 1488 the ships reached southern Africa, and a storm blew them out to sea. When the winds died down and the sky cleared, Dias realized that the storm had blown the ships around the east coast of the continent. He and his crew had become the first Europeans to sail around the southern tip of Africa!
  • Columbus landed in North America
    Jan 1, 1492

    Columbus landed in North America

    Christopher Columbus sailed west to find a faster route to Asia. He ended up in San Salvador (now known as the West Indies).
  • Caboto landed in Newfoundland
    Jan 1, 1497

    Caboto landed in Newfoundland

    Giovanni Caboto sailed toward China. He ended up in New Foundland, which was a great fishing area.
  • Da Gama reaches India
    Jan 1, 1498

    Da Gama reaches India

    Da Gamma sailed around the Cape of Good Hope with four ships. He brought back to Portugal perfumes, silks, spices, and other goods that he had traded for in India.
  • Africans began working with explorers
    Jan 1, 1500

    Africans began working with explorers

    Pedro Alonzo Nino was a black pilot on Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria.
  • Vespucci realizes that new continents exist
    Jan 1, 1500

    Vespucci realizes that new continents exist

    Amerigo Vespucci sailed down the coast of South America to look for signs that he reached Asia. He doubted that Columbus had reached the Indies. Then he realized that there was a new continent (later named America after him).
  • Balboa discovered a new ocean past North America
    Jan 1, 1513

    Balboa discovered a new ocean past North America

    Vasco Nunez de Balboa set out to prove Vespucci's idea that there was an unknown continent. He crossed the Isthmus of Panama and discovered an unfamiliar ocean (now known as the Pacific Ocean).
  • Ponce de Leon lands in Florida
    Jan 1, 1513

    Ponce de Leon lands in Florida

    Juan Ponce de Leon went searching for the Fountain of Youth (said to make you live forever). He landed and took over Puerto Rico. Then he landed in what is now called Florida and claimed the land for Spain.
  • Cortez takes over the Aztec Empire
    Jan 1, 1519

    Cortez takes over the Aztec Empire

    Hernando Cortez was sent to the Aztec Empire to take their gold. They took down the temples with the help of Indians and destroyed the Aztec city. They used Indian laborers to establish farms and towns.
  • Magellan voyages to South America (dies)
    Jan 1, 1522

    Magellan voyages to South America (dies)

    Ferdinand Magellan wanted to prove Columbus's theory about a western passage to the Indies. He ended up in South America and passed through what is now the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean. He later was killed, but his crew became the first men to sail around the world. 250 went - only 18 returned.
  • Sir Walter Raleigh's colonists land on Roanoke Island

    Sir Walter Raleigh's colonists land on Roanoke Island

  • John White returned to Roanoke

    John White returned to Roanoke

  • English colonists land at Jamestown

    English colonists land at Jamestown

  • Quebec became France's first important settlement

    Quebec became France's first important settlement

  • John Rolfe developed a successful tobacco crop

    John Rolfe developed a successful tobacco crop

  • House of Burgesses meets for the first time

    House of Burgesses meets for the first time