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The conquest of Acre, last stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, by the Mamluk Sultanate effectively ended the Crusades - military campaigns sanctioned by the Latin Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages and with the stated goal of restoring Christian access to holy places in and near Jerusalem. Through the Crusades the people of Europe had been introduced to spices and luxury goods from Asia.
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First used for navigation by the Song Dynasty in China between 1040-1044, the technology was found in Europe by the turn of the 14th century. It is debated whether is arrived via the trade routes to Asia or if it was developed independently. Around the same time gunpowder is first traded, and understood, in Europe, paving the way for its use in cannons, explosives, and guns.
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Prince Henry, son of the King of Portugal, catches a glimpse of the dazzling wealth that lay beyond Europe with the capture of the Muslim city of Cueta in North Africa. In Ceuta the Portuguese found stores filled with pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and other spices. They also encountered large supplies of gold, silver, and jewels.
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Son of John I of Portugal (his mother was a sister of the King of England), Henry became governor of the region of Algarve (from the Arabic for "the West" - the end of the earth as far those who named it thought) at the age of 25. From Algarve, with easy access to the Mediterranean and Atlantic, Henry sponsered voyages of exploration down the coast of Africa and is regarded as initiator of the "Age of Discoveries".
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12 Africans in Cabo Branco (modern Mauritania) are captured and transported to Portugal by captains Antão Gonçalves and Nuno Tristão. Though slavery existed as long as humans have this begins the system that culminates with the Atlantic Slave trade.
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These small, highly maneuverable ships were used by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing into the wind. Previous boats were fragile and couldn't overcome the navigational difficulties of Southward oceanic exploration, as the strong winds, shoals and strong ocean currents easily overwhelmed their abilities.
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The Christian Byzantine capital, which occupied a stragetic point between Europe and Asia, falls to the Muslim Ottomans. The loss of Constantinople effectively severed European trade links with Asia leading many to begin seeking routes east by sea.
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On this date Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias and his crew built a stone cross near the mouth of the Bushman's River on the Eastern Cape coast. This is the oldest European monument in South Africa.
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The surrender of the city of Grenda by the Emir Abu `Abdallah Muhammad XII to Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabelle of Castille marks the end of the Reconquista - the effort of the Catholic monarchs of Iberia to drive Muslims out of the peninsula.
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Christopher Columbus and expedition go ashore on a Caribbean Island and claims the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain. The monarchs had sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. Columbus believed in a quicker route than previous explorers attempted (sailing around Africa) and lucky for him (he underestimated the size of the earth) the Americas interrupted what would have otherwise been a disasterous trip.
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Christopher Columbus lands on the Caribbean island Borinquen (as called by the Taino - the original inhabitants. Columbus renames the island San Juan Bautista in honor of Saint John the Baptist. By the 1520s Spanish colonization of the island was well underway and it came to be called Puerto Rico, with the port retaining the original name of San Juan.
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Spain and Portugal press rival claims to the lands Columbus explores, and in 1493 Pope Alexander VI steps in to keep the peace. He sets a Line of Demarcation, which divides the non-European world into two zones. Spain has trading and exploration rights in all lands west of the line, while Portugal has the same rights east of the line.The lands to the east would belong to Portugal and the lands to the west to Spain.
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Hoping to find a northwest passage to Asia, explorer John Cabot sets out on a voyage from England. When he lands on the east coast of North America, he claims the land in the name of King Henry VII, mistakenly believing he is in Asia.
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Da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, in July 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored at Malindi on the east coast of Africa. With the aid of an Indian merchant he met there, he then set off across the Indian Ocean. When he finally reached Calicut he and his crew were amazed by the spices, rare silks, and precious gems they encountered in the markets. Some of such goods they brought back to Europe, earning 60 times the cost of the voyage!
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A German mapmaker reads reports about Columbus' "New World," written by the Italian sailor Amerigo Vespucci. The mapmaker names the region America, and the Caribbean islands Columbus initially explored are named the West Indies.
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King Ferdinand of Spain authorises a shipment of 50 African slaves to be sent to the Caribbean. Colonial Spanish and Portuguese agriculture needs cheap labor to sustain development and countless of the indigenous peoples of the New World are mistreatment at the hands of the Europeans and from diseases the Europeans brought.
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After da Gama's success in setting up a trading post in India, the Portuguese begin to capture key ports around the Indian Ocean. In 1511 they seize Malacca, which allows them to ally with Asian leaders and establish a major foothold in Asian trade routes. Portugal continues to set up a vast trading empire, but their brutality in Malacca makes them hated and feared.
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Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernan Cortés lands on the coast of Mexico with 600 men, 16 horses, and a few cannons. While the Spaniards are vastly outnumbered by the Aztecs, they capture and demolish the capital city of Tenochtitlán in a brutal assault in 1521. Their actions inspire other conquistadors to conquer regions in the Americas.
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The Vittoria completes the first circumnavigation of the globe, nearly three years after first setting out. While Ferdinand Magellan leads the initial expedition, he and four other ships do not survive the entire voyage.
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Giovanni da Verrazzano was an Italian explorer commissioned by King Francis I of France to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between the Carolinas and Newfoundland, including New York Harbor. The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge in New York is named after him.
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Inspired by the success of Cortés in Mexico, Francisco Pizarro arrives in Peru in 1532. He capitalizes on the unrest in the Incan empire and quickly captures the Inca emperor, whom he executes in 1533. The Spanish spread across Ecuador and Chile, adding much of South America to Spain's empire.
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Jacques Cartier explored modern Canada around the coast of Newfoundland, Labrador, Arcadia, and all the islands in the area for France. He returned on September 5th, 1534.
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Hoping to exploit trade in East and Southeast Asia and India, a group of English merchants form the East India Company by royal charter. With this company, the English break the Spanish and Portuguese monopoly of the East Indian spice trade. The company later becomes involved in politics and acts as an agent of British imperialism in India.
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In the late 1500s, the Dutch set up colonies and trading posts around the world. A group of wealthy merchants found the Dutch East India Company, which furthers their quest to be the major European commercial power in the east. The company also comes into conflict with the English East India Company.
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