PERSON
He is credited with "discovering" the Americas in 1492, sailing under the Spanish flag.
Christopher Columbus
Columbus first landed on an island in this archipelago, believing he had reached Asia.
San Salvador / Bahamas
In October of this year, a sailor aboard the Pinta sighted land, marking the arrival of Columbus in the Americas.
1492
Christopher Columbus’s voyages began a long-term exchange of goods, diseases, and cultures between the Old and New Worlds, known by this term.
the Columbian Exchange
Although he is famous for "discovering" the Americas, Columbus was actually searching for a faster westward sea route to this specific region.
Asia / the Indies, India, Japan)
The Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach India by sea, sailing around Africa.
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama successfully landed at this major port city in southwestern India, a central hub for the spice trade.
Calicut / Kozhikode
The Silk Road trade network flourished for centuries, but this powerful empire's rise in 1453 made land trade routes very dangerous and expensive for Europeans.
the Ottoman Empire
Magellan's expedition proved definitively that this geographical concept was fact, though his sailors had long suspected it.
the Earth is round / Earth is a sphere
Marco Polo introduced many new Chinese technologies and concepts to Europe, including this important form of currency, unknown in Venice.
Paper Money
Although he died during the journey, he is credited with leading the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
Ferdinand Magellan
The ancient trading network, known by this name, connected China to the Mediterranean and was the reason for Europe’s desire for direct sea routes.
Silk Road
Vasco da Gama finally reached Calicut, India, in this year, completing his unprecedented sea voyage.
1498
James Cook became the first European to observe and map the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of this modern-day nation.
Australia
While not a new land, Vasco da Gama's key discovery was this highly profitable sailing route around the southern tip of Africa to India.
the Cape Route / Route around the Cape of Good Hope
A skilled British cartographer and navigator, he mapped vast areas of the Pacific, including New Zealand and Hawaii.
James Cook
Magellan's fleet passed through a narrow, treacherous strait that now bears his name, located at the southern tip of this continent.
South America
Magellan's remaining ship, the Victoria, returned to Spain in this year, completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth.
1522
During his second voyage, James Cook crossed this significant geographical parallel, proving there was no great southern continent ("Terra Australis").
the Antarctic Circle
James Cook is credited with being the first European to encounter this remote island group in the Central Pacific in 1778, which he named the Sandwich Islands.
Hawaii
The 13th-century Venetian merchant whose writings, "The Travels of Marco Polo," inspired later explorers to find sea routes to Asia.
Marco Polo
Marco Polo spent 17 years serving in the court of this powerful Mongol leader, Kublai Khan, in the region that is now this country.
China / Yuan Dynasty
James Cook first arrived in the waters of New Zealand and mapped its coastline during this specific decade of the 18th century.
1760s / 1769-1770
While not an exploration, this historical event in 1275 saw the Polo family arrive in the Mongolian capital of Shangdu (Xanadu), the turning point of their lives.
Kublai Khan / Entering Mongol China)
During their voyages, members of Magellan’s crew made numerous botanical and zoological discoveries, including these birds which they named for their elegant movement.
penguins / Magellanic penguins)