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Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal founded a new school for navigation, in which he aimed to teach his students how to develop new maps and ships, and even navigational tools that would inevitably guide explorers down the coast of Africa, marking a new beginning in European maritime exploration. -
The Ottomans' capture of Constantinople would be a great loss for the Europeans; access to the trade routes to Asia was cut off entirely. Consequently, the European kingdoms were coerced into searching for new routes to the far Orient. Spain and Portugal in particular were in a haste to search for a new route, foreshadowing the advent of the discovery of the New World. -
Dias' voyage proved that ships could sail around the southern tip of Africa and reach the Indian Ocean without issue, paving the long way for direct trade between Europe and Asia. -
Funded by Spain, the ambitious Italian's expedition linked Europe to the New World for the first time in history, ushering in a new colonial age, one that is marked by exchange and conquest. -
The Pope, Alexander VI, divided the New World between Spain and Portugal, allowing both Iberian powers to expand their empires as an effort to avoid intersecting each other in conflict over new territories. -
Da Gama's voyage was crucial in the sense that it established a new and direct route from Europe to Asia, revolutionizing global trade in the process, while also expanding Portugal's wealth and influence. -
Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes overthrew the formidable Aztec Empire, signaling a violent beginning in the European colonization of Indigenous America. -
Although he had perished during his voyage, Magellan's fleet became the first in human history to sail around the world, proving that Earth was indeed round in shape, and not flat, but also united global trade routes in the very process of it all. -
Spanish mining at Potosi was vital in fueling Europe's growing economy and global trade networks but was unfortunately built on the forced labor and subjugation of indigenous peoples. Essentially, they were enslaved. -
The establishment of the British East India Company marked a dark beginning of English's dominance over global trade, linking Europe to various markets throughout Asia, therefore, accelerating globalization.