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Portugal had the first expedition which started the “Age Of Exploration”
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Prince Henry established a navigation school in Sagres, Portugal, which played a crucial role in training explorers and advancing maritime technology.
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Dias became the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa, proving a sea route to Asia was possible.
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Columbus, sponsored by Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, set sail and reached the Americas, marking the beginning of Spanish exploration and colonization in the New World.
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Portugal and Spain signed this treaty, dividing newly discovered lands outside Europe. It granted Portugal control over Brazil, Africa, and parts of Asia, shaping its global empire.
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Italian explorer John Cabot, sailing under the English flag, reached the coast of present-day Canada, becoming the first European (after the Norse) to explore parts of North America.
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Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the New World, claiming it for Spain.
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Magellan, under Spanish sponsorship, led the first circumnavigation of the globe. Though he died in the Philippines, his fleet completed the journey, proving the world was round and interconnected by ocean routes.
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Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés led an expedition that resulted in the fall of the Aztec Empire, securing Mexico for Spain
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Pizarro and his men defeated the Inca ruler Atahualpa, leading to Spanish control over present-day Peru and vast South American riches
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French explorer Jacques Cartier set sail to explore the New World on behalf of King Francis I. He reached present-day Canada, claiming land for France and beginning France’s involvement in North America.
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Cartier attempted to establish the first French colony in North America (modern-day Quebec), but it failed due to harsh conditions and conflict with Indigenous peoples.
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Jean Ribault, a French naval officer, led an expedition to establish a Huguenot (French Protestant) colony in Florida.
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Sir Francis Drake, an English privateer, became the first Englishman to sail around the world, raiding Spanish settlements along the way and claiming new territories for England.
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England, under Queen Elizabeth I, defeated the Spanish Armada, marking the rise of England as a dominant naval power and opening the way for greater English exploration and colonization.
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The French, led by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, and Samuel de Champlain, established Port Royal (in present-day Nova Scotia, Canada) as part of the colony of Acadia.
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The English established Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English colony in North America, laying the foundation for British expansion in the New World.
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The Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom, sailed on the Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, furthering England’s colonial presence in North America.