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1488
Bartolomeu Dias reaches Mossel Bay
Bartolomeu Dias was a portuguese explorer who led the first expedition around the southern tip of Africa which is known as the Cape of Good Hope. Some say Dias named it the Cape of Good Hope, but others tie the name to John II. They spotted landfall 300 miles east of Cape of Good Hope in present day Mossel Bay. -
1492
Columbus landed in the Americas
Columbus led his three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, across the Atlantic Ocean hoping to find another trading route to Asia. However, Columbus landed in the Bahamas (thinking that he landed in India). -
1492
The Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was a transfer of diseases, livestock, culture, and plants on a global scale. Goods where exchanged between the old world (Europe), the new world (Americas), and West Africa. -
Jun 24, 1497
John Cabot lands at Newfoundland
On June 24, 1497 John Cabot landed at what it is believed to be newfoundland. He claimed the land for the English king. -
Jul 8, 1497
Vasco da Gama
Vasco de Gama was the first to sail from Europe to India by rounding the Cape of Good Hope. He established sailing routes that are still used today. -
1500
1500
A Spanish conquistador known as Pedro Cabral arrives to South America. -
1519
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés sailed for the coast of Yucatán where he won the natives over and slowly gained power until he sieged the aztecs and took over their land. -
1519
Conquest of the Aztec
In 1519 a Spanish force under the command of Hernan Cortes landed at Veracruz, on the Gulf of Mexico. He conquered the Aztec empire with his army of 550 troops/soldiers and 16 horses. -
1519
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a portuguese explorer who led an expedition that resulted in the first circumnavigation of the Earth with the help of Juan Sebastian Elcano. -
1520
Conquest of the Aztec
In the fall of 1520, one year after Cortes had first arrived, the local population revolted and drove the invaders from the city. Many of the Spaniards were killed. -
1524
Verrazzano lands in New York
Verrazzano was commissioned by King Francois of France to find a Northwest passage to China. The Florentine navigator set sail with four ships, losing two of them during the voyage. He explored and mapped the east coast of North America and became the first recorded European explorer to find New York. In later got a bridge named after him called the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. -
1531
Conquest of the Inca
In early 1531, Francisco Pizarro landed on the Pacific coast of South America with only a small band of about 180 men. Like Cortes, he brought steel weapons, gunpowder, and horses. Due to this, he was able to conquer the Inca empire by giving them smallpox which in this case was a European disease that wiped out most of their villages including the emperor. -
1533
Conquest of the Inca
Francisco Pizarro conquers the Inca Empire -
1534
Cartier Voyage to North America
King Francis I of France sent Jacques Cartier on a expedition to the eastern coast of North America. Cartier was sent to search for gold, spices and a passage to Asia. He explored the west coast of Newfoundland and discovered Prince Edward Island and sailed through the Gulf of St. Lawerence. -
1535
Conquest of the Inca
Francisco Pizarro establishes a new colony at the capital of Lima in the Inca empire. -
1577
Sir Francis Drake's expedition
SIr Francis Drake was chosen as a leader of an expedition that was backed by Queen Elizabeth. He explored the coast beyond the Strait of Magellan. He took land which is modern day California and named it New Albion in name of Queen Elizabeth. -
East India Company Begins Exploration
The first English ships from the East India Company set sail for the Banda Island to trade woolen cloth and silver for spices. The English met Arab, Turkish, Gujarati, Bengali, Malay and Chinese. -
Colonization of Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia became the first permanent English colony/settlement in the Americas, 13 years after the first pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery left England in 1606 and landed in Jamestown in 1607. John Smith became the colony's first leader a year after Jamestown was founded and implemented a "no work, no food" policy to the colony. -
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain was a french explorer who had an expedition in 1608 from France. He founded Quebec and mapped the Atlantic coast. -
Henry Hudson travels the Hudson River
After two failed attempts of finding a northern route to Asia, Hudson set off again. He and his crew traveled across the Atlantic Ocean and landed at present-day Nova Scotia. He then traveled through Hudson river (that was named after him) all the way up to what is now known as Albany. -
East India Company: Trading Centres in Calcutta
There was a great demand for Indian textiles in Europe. The company traded with the Indian craftsmen for their beautiful textiles which were later sold to Europeans. -
Treaty of Paris, 1763
The treaty marked the end of the Seven Years' War, a war between Great Britain and France. The treaty demanded that France give up all of their territories in mainland North America to Great Britain. -
Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Northwest Ordinance bans slavery in the Northwest Territory of the United States. -
Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade
During the French Revolution it was then the French also decide to abolish slavery.
