Timeline

 

 

 3200 B.C.
Pharaoh Snefru brings 40 ships from Byblus to Phoenicia.
2750
First recorded expedition of exploration from Egypt.		  
  2500
Polynesians begin their migration throughout the South Pacific around this time.
8th century
Polynesians colonize the Hawaiian Islands.		  

 

7th century
Phoenician merchant seamen explore the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic coastline south to Africa and north to Europe. Pharaoh Necho sends Phoenician ship on expedition around Africa.

500
Hanno travels down the northwestern coast of Africa. Expedition recorded by Greeks. Himilco travels to England and establishes tin trade.

  
 

510
Scylax explores India, Arabia, and northern Afghanistan for the Persian empire.

4th century
Greeks add England and India to their maps.

  
 

275
Canal between the Nile River and the Red Sea is reopened to shipping.

1st century A.D.
Chinese invent first compass.

  
 

120
Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus A.D. 90 - 168) of Egypt, a mathematician and astronomer who works in Alexandria, builds the foundations of cartography. He invents a number of projections whereby an area on the curved surface of the Earth can be represented on a flat surface. His world system places the Earth at the center of the universe with celestial bodies circling around it.

10th century
Constantinople (Byzantium) recognized as the first city of the world to be a commercial and cultural center.

  
 

860
Iceland discovered.

982
Greenland discovered by Eric the Red.

  
 

1002
Leifr Eiriksson discovers North America.

1050
Astrolabes arrive in Europe from the East.

  
 

1066
Normans (Vikings) conquer England.

1081
A trade treaty is established between Venice and the Byzantine Empire.

  
 

1151
First use of explosives in war, by China.

1191
First exports of tea from China.

  
 

13th century
Nomadic Mongols capture most of Eurasia, Korea, and Hungary.

1225
Cotton manufacturing established in Spain.

  
 

1233
First coal is mined in Newcastle, England.
1240
The Hanseatic League is formed in the Baltic region and becomes the North terminus for Far East trade.		  
  1271-95
Marco Polo journeys to China establishing the overland trade route. He leaves China in 1292 and three years later arrives home.
1325
Ibn Buttuta leaves on pilgrimage.		  
  1328
Invention of sawmill spurs shipbuilding.
1355
Ibn Buttuta returns home from his travels.		  
  1405
Admiral Cheng Ho begins his voyages for Emperor Chu Ti. The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne rules the South Pacific and Indian Ocean until 1433.
1406
Ptolemy's geography is introduced in Europe.		  
  1432
Portuguese navigators discover the Azores.
1441
Portuguese navigators cruise West Africa and reestablish slave trade.		  
  ca. 1450
Prince Henry the Navigator establishes a Naval observatory for the teaching of navigation, astronomy, and cartography.
1450
Invention of the printing press spurs wide distribution of navigation tables and ship plans. Ptolemy's geography is published and widely accepted.		  
  1453
Turks overrun Constantinople, shutting off the overland trade route.
1470-84
Portuguese explorations discover Africa's Gold Coast and the Congo River.		  
  1487
Bartholomeu Dias barely touches the Cape of Good Hope.
1492
Columbus sets sail.		  
  1494
The Treaty of Tordesillas divides the world between Spain and Portugal for the alleged purpose of spreading Christianity.
1497-98
Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope and reaches India.		  
  1497
John Cabot sites "new found land" while searching for Northwest Passage.
1504
Venice proposes a Suez Canal to the Sultan of Turkey.		  
  1506
Christopher Columbus dies.
1511
Portugal defeats the Arabs in a major naval battle at the Straits of Sunda, taking control of the Spice Islands as the center of Far East trade. (The Straits lie between Java and Borneo, now Indonesia.)		  
  1512
England begins construction of double-deck warships.
1519
Magellan begins his journey to circumnavigate the world with five ships and 270 men.		  
  1521
April 27, Magellan killed by natives in the Philippines.
1522
September 6, eighteen of Magellan's crew and one ship return.		  
  1534
Jacques Cartier enters the St. Lawrence River. Land in Great Lakes claimed for France.
1577
Sir Francis Drake sets sail from England. He circumnavigates the globe.		  
  1609
Henry Hudson explores present-day New York and Hudson River and claims them for the Dutch.
1768
James Cook begins the first of his Pacific explorations.		  
  1770
Cook documents location of Australia.
1778
Cook explores Hawaiian Islands. He fails to locate Northwest Passage from Alaskan side.		  
  1779
Cook killed in Hawaii.