The Age of Discovery, or Age of Exploration, was a period in which European sailors crossed the oceans and established sea routes linking the continents. It was driven by the search for trade routes to Asia, for gold and spices, and by rivalry between states, and it was made possible by improved ships, navigation and mapmaking. Portugal led the way under Prince Henry the Navigator, whose expeditions explored the West African coast, and Bartolomeu Dias rounded Africa's southern tip in 1488. Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498, and Magellan's expedition completed the first circumnavigation. The era brought a global exchange of goods and ideas, and also conquest, the slave trade and the devastation of many peoples.
Before and after
- 1497Introduction of Spanish dollar
- 24 June 1497John Cabot reaches North America
- from 1498 to 1975Portuguese Mozambique
- 1499Pietà (Michelangelo)
- from 15th century to 18th centuryAge of Discovery
- c. 1500sDavid
- c. 1500Modern period
- 15th centuryConstruction of Red Square
- from 15th century to 18th centuryEarly modern period
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 1501 to 1736Safavid dynasty
- from 1520 to 1600Mannerism
- from 11 June 1569 to 24 October 1795Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
- from 1603 to 1868Edo period
- from 1613 to 1762House of Romanov
- June 1644The Manchus take Beijing and found Qing rule
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas.