Facts about the Age of Exploration
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Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon reached Australia's western coast in 1606, making him the first known European to reach the continent during the Age of Exploration.
- 11
Astrologers and astronomers working for Henry VIII's court studied indigenous star maps brought back by English explorers to better navigate Atlantic crossings during the early 16th century.
- 10
Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, proving that a southern sea route to Asia existed and paving the way for da Gama's later voyage to India.
- 09
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec Empire in 1521 with only 600 soldiers, aided by indigenous allies and the psychological impact of horses and firearms unknown to Mesoamerica.
- 08
The spice trade motivated by European exploration generated profits exceeding 1000 percent, as cloves from the Maluku Islands purchased for pennies sold for gold in European markets during the 16th century.
- 07
Approximately 90 percent of the Native American population died within 100 years of Columbus's 1492 arrival, primarily from Old World diseases like smallpox introduced during the Age of Exploration.
- 06
In 1522, Juan Sebastian Elcano led the Victoria back to Spain with only 18 of Magellan's original 270 crew members, completing history's first circumnavigation of Earth.
- 05
By 1600, European expeditions had established over 200 trading posts along African and Asian coasts, fundamentally reshaping global commerce during the Age of Exploration.
- 04
Portuguese navigators used the astrolabe and quadrant to determine latitude with unprecedented accuracy during 16th century oceanic voyages across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
- 03
Christopher Columbus received 17,000 maravedis annually from Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella after his 1492 voyage, making him one of the crown's wealthiest subjects.
- 02
Ferdinand Magellan's 1519 expedition circumnavigated the globe in three years, though he died in the Philippines before completing the journey himself.
- 01
Vasco da Gama's 1498 voyage to India took 10 months and proved a sea route around Africa was commercially viable.