The exploits of early explorers have left a significant mark on modern civilization, paving the way for the colonization of undiscovered regions on all four corners of the world. Fueled by the rise of new maritime technologies, strong wish to establish reliable routes between Europe, India, and East Asia, and the simple drive to achieve the seemingly impossible tasks, some of the most famous exploration feats have not only helped to expand our knowledge but have directly changed the course of the history. Today, centuries after their brave exploits, many countries worldwide still strongly remember and promote various exploits made by these brave explorers.
Before Columbus set his sail on his trans-Atlantic trip to find the route to distant China, mariner, and explorer Bartolomeu Dias managed to revolutionize the way the medieval Kingdom of Portugal and the rest of Europe has viewed their place in the world. By successfully traveling along the western coast of Africa, he became the first explorer who has successfully sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa, effectively establishing a reliable sea route between continents of Europe and Asia and enabling future explorers such as Vasco de Gama to achieve their incredible feats. Today, the discoveries of Bartolomeu Dias are praised as the starting point of the Age of Exploration.
Bartolomeu Dias route mapped the way for all the future naval fleets to easily circumvent Africa, reaching distant Asia and the rich countries of India, China, and Japan. This large discovery marked the start of the new era of European expansion, trade, and colonization.
In just four Atlantic round trips in search of the fabled naval route to China, the most famous explorer of all time, Christopher Columbus has managed to reshape the history of our world by opening the gates to the incredible new world of Americas, establishing the route for the largest migration of people our world has ever seen, and starting a new age of European exploration of the four corners of the world. Between the years 1492 and 1504, Columbus discovered and charted many locations in the Caribbean, eventually even reaching the shore of Venezuela. Today, more than half a millennia after his trips to Central and South America, his exploits still echo in our history, reminding us of the days when the horizon kept many secrets from us.
Christopher Columbus's voyages across the Atlantic are remembered today as one of the greatest feats of exploration in the entire history of mankind. Equipped with simple renaissance naval technology, Columbus, and his crews managed to expand our view of the world and usher in a new era of exploration, expansion, colonization, and conquest that shaped the modern world.
Christopher Columbus's ships enabled the first modern crossing of the Atlantic, ushering in a new era of European exploration, colonization, and conquest. Learn more about how Columbus used these ships to discover the Americas and the subsequent expeditions.
The route Christopher Columbus took during his first voyage to the New Indies was well documented and preserved, enabling not only the Spanish crown to reference it extensively during the subsequent journeys to the Americas but also modern historians to track the exact timeline of his discoveries.