Exploration
Voyages and journeys made to reach, chart or learn about distant lands and peoples.
Category: Knowledge, Society
- c. 138 BCEZhang Qian travels west for the Han
Emperor Wu sends Zhang Qian west c. 138 BCE to find the Yuezhi, enemies of the Xiongnu. Held by the Xiongnu about thirteen years, he reaches Dayuan (Ferghana) and Bactria and returns c. 125 BCE with one companion, reporting too on Parthia and India from hearsay.
- c. 119 BCEZhang Qian's mission to the Wusun
Zhang Qian leads a second embassy, to the Wusun, c. 119-115 BCE, and is made grand messenger on his return. A trade mission to the Wusun in 119 BCE is said to open trade between China and Persia, and Parthian missions follow around 100 BCE. He dies c. 114 or 113.
- 97Gan Ying is sent west toward Rome
In 97 CE Ban Chao sends Gan Ying toward Daqin (Rome). He reaches Parthian-ruled Tiaozhi and a great "western sea", perhaps the Persian Gulf or the Black Sea, and turns back after sailors warn of a voyage of up to two years. His report on Daqin comes from secondhand sources.
- 1245Carpini carries a papal mission to the Mongols
Giovanni da Pian del Carpine leaves Lyon on 16 April 1245 on Innocent IV's mission, witnesses Güyük's enthronement on 24 August 1246, and returns in 1247 with the khan's demand that Europe submit. His Ystoria Mongalorum is the oldest European account of the Mongols.
- 1253William of Rubruck reaches Karakorum
Sent by Louis IX in 1253, the Flemish Franciscan William of Rubruck reaches Karakorum in December and is received by Möngke on 4 January 1254. He watches a debate among Christians, Buddhists and Muslims in May and returns in 1255. His route shows the Caspian is an inland sea.
- c. 1254Birth of Marco Polo in Venice
Marco Polo, future merchant and traveller to the court of Kublai Khan, is born in Venice into a merchant family. His exact birth date and place are not documented; Venice and 1254 are the usual attribution.
- c. 1271Marco Polo leaves Venice with his father and uncle for the Mongol court
Aged about 17, Marco Polo sets out from Venice with his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo on an overland journey across Asia to Kublai Khan. The date rests largely on Polo's own account.
- c. 1275Marco Polo reaches Kublai Khan's court at Shangdu
After a journey of about three and a half years the Polos arrive at Kublai Khan's summer capital, Shangdu (Xanadu). Marco serves the khan for some 17 years; his exact role is disputed.
- 1287Rabban Bar Sauma travels from China to Europe
Born near Beijing, the Church of the East monk Rabban Bar Sauma travels west for the Ilkhan Arghun in 1287-88, seeking an alliance against the Mamluks. He meets Andronicus II, Philip IV and Edward I, and Pope Nicholas IV in Rome. The alliance fails.
- c. 1291Marco Polo leaves China from Zaitun with a Mongol princess's party
The Polos depart from the port of Zaitun by sea, escorting the princess Kököchin to Persia. Sources give 1291 or 1292.
- 1294John of Montecorvino reaches Khanbaliq
The Franciscan John of Montecorvino reaches China in 1294, just after Kublai's death, and builds a church at Khanbaliq in 1299 and a second in 1305. He translates the New Testament and Psalms into Uyghur and is consecrated archbishop of Peking in 1308.
- 1295Marco Polo returns to Venice after about 24 years in Asia
Marco Polo, his father and his uncle return to Venice in 1295 after about 24 years away, having travelled across Asia and served at Kublai Khan's court.
- c. 1298 – 1299Marco Polo dictates his Travels to Rustichello da Pisa in a Genoese prison
Held prisoner by Genoa, Polo dictates an account of his journeys to the romance writer Rustichello da Pisa. The book, in French, is later known as Il Milione. Tradition links his capture to Curzola (1298).
- 1324Death of Marco Polo in Venice
Marco Polo dies in Venice, usually dated to 8 January 1324 and buried at San Lorenzo. The Venetian calendar makes the day 8 or 9 January, and some sources conflict, so only the year is given.
- June 14, 1325Ibn Battuta sets out from Tangier
Ibn Battuta leaves Tangier on 14 June 1325 for the hajj and does not return to Morocco for 24 years, travelling about 117,000 km. He serves six years as a qadi at Delhi. Doubts remain about parts of his account, including his chronology and whether he reached China.
- 1341Niccoloso da Recco leads a Portuguese-backed expedition to the Canary Islands
The Genoese navigator Niccoloso da Recco sails to the Canary Islands in 1341 in an expedition backed by the Portuguese crown. It is the first well-documented European voyage to the archipelago since antiquity.
- 1402Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle land in Lanzarote
The Norman knights Béthencourt and La Salle reach Lanzarote in 1402, and Henry III of Castile makes Béthencourt lord of the islands. Sources date the conquest of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura between 1402 and 1405.
- 1403Clavijo's embassy from Castile to Timur
Henry III of Castile sends Ruy González de Clavijo to Timur. The party sails from Cádiz on 22 May 1403, crosses Constantinople and Trebizond, and reaches Samarkand on 4 September 1404. Back in Castile on 24 March 1406, Clavijo writes the Embajada a Tamorlán.
- September 4, 1403The Yongle Emperor orders 200 ocean-going ships built
On 4 September 1403 the Yongle Emperor orders 200 seagoing transport ships, the start of the Ming treasure fleet. The fleet is built at Nanjing's Longjiang shipyard and others on the Yangtze.
- July 11, 1405 – October 2, 1407Zheng He's first treasure voyage to Southeast Asia, Ceylon and India
Zheng He sails from Nanjing on 11 July 1405 with about 255 ships and 27,800 men, calling at Champa, Java, Malacca, Ceylon and Calicut. The fleet returns on 2 October 1407.
- c. 1409Zheng He erects a Chinese, Persian and Tamil stele at Galle, Ceylon
A trilingual stele in Chinese, Persian and Tamil is set up at Galle in Sri Lanka, dated 15 February 1409 in most sources (one says 1411). It records offerings to Buddha, Allah and the Hindu god Tenavarai Nayanar.
- 1413 – August 12, 1415Zheng He's fourth treasure voyage reaches Hormuz and the Persian Gulf
The fourth voyage leaves Nanjing in autumn 1413, extends the usual route to Hormuz and the Maldives, and returns on 12 August 1415. Detachments visit Bengal and the Arabian coast.
- 1414A giraffe from Malindi in East Africa is presented to the Yongle Emperor
An envoy from Malindi, on the East African coast, brings a giraffe to Bengal, from where the Chinese fleet takes it to the Yongle Emperor in 1414. The court treats it as a qilin, a sign of imperial virtue.
- August 21, 1415Portugal conquers Ceuta in Morocco
King John I of Portugal and his sons, including Prince Henry, capture the Marinid port of Ceuta on 21 August 1415. It is commonly treated as the start of Portugal's overseas expansion.
- 1417 – August 8, 1419Zheng He's fifth treasure voyage reaches Aden and the East African coast
The fifth voyage leaves in autumn 1417 and visits Hormuz, Aden, Mogadishu, Barawa and Malindi, the farthest the Ming fleets sail, and returns on 8 August 1419.
- c. 1419Portuguese captains reach Madeira and Porto Santo
Captains João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, serving Prince Henry, reach Porto Santo and Madeira around 1418-1419. Settlement on Madeira begins in the 1420s, with sugar and wine later its main products.
- 1421 – September 3, 1422Zheng He's sixth treasure voyage sails to the Indian Ocean and East Africa
The sixth voyage, ordered in March 1421, takes the fleet to Ceylon, Hormuz, Aden and East Africa and returns to Nanjing on 3 September 1422. On 14 May 1421 the Yongle Emperor suspended further voyages.
- c. 1427Portuguese navigators reach the Azores
The Azores are reached by Portuguese ships around 1427-1431; Diogo de Silves is credited with 1427 on a disputed map inscription, and Gonçalo Velho Cabral officially claims them in 1431. Settlement begins in the 1430s-40s.
- January 19, 1431 – July 7, 1433Zheng He's seventh and last treasure voyage
Zheng He sails from Nanjing on 19 January 1431 under the Xuande Emperor and visits Southeast Asia, India, Hormuz and East Africa. The fleet returns to China on 7 July 1433, and no more are sent.
- c. 1434Gil Eanes sails beyond Cape Bojador
On Prince Henry's orders Gil Eanes sails past Cape Bojador on the West African coast and returns, in 1434 (some sources say 1435), after a failed attempt in 1433. The voyage opens the coast south of the cape to Portuguese ships.
- August 1444Lançarote de Freitas lands the first large group of enslaved Africans at Lagos
A fleet of six caravels returns to Lagos from the Arguin coast in August 1444 with over 200 captured Africans, who are sold at a public market. It is seen as the start of Portugal's slave trade from West Africa.
- c. 1450Fra Mauro draws his world map in Venice, drawing on Marco Polo
The Camaldolese monk Fra Mauro makes a large world map at San Michele in Isola, Venice. Its Asian annotations draw on travellers such as Marco Polo and Niccolò de' Conti.
- 1455 – 1456Alvise Cadamosto makes two voyages to West Africa for Prince Henry
The Venetian Alvise Cadamosto sails along the West African coast in 1455 and 1456, reaching the Gambia River. His voyages are traditionally linked to the sighting of the Cape Verde Islands.
- November 13, 1460Death of Prince Henry the Navigator
Prince Henry, son of John I and patron of Portuguese voyages along the Atlantic coast of Africa, dies on 13 November 1460. The 'school of Sagres' attached to him is now seen as a legend; Lagos was his main base.
- c. 1482Diogo Cão reaches the mouth of the Congo River
Diogo Cão, sailing for John II, reaches the Congo River in 1482 (the date is not fully settled) and sets up a stone padrão to mark Portugal's claim. His later voyage carries him further south along the African coast.
- January 1482Portugal builds São Jorge da Mina (Elmina) on the Gold Coast
Diogo de Azambuja lands in January 1482, gets permission from local ruler Kwamina Ansa and starts building the fort of São Jorge da Mina. It is the first permanent Portuguese fort in sub-Saharan Africa.
- c. 1484John II of Portugal's advisers reject Columbus's plan to sail west to Asia
A committee of mathematicians and cosmographers appointed by King John II judges Columbus's estimate of the distance to Asia too small and turns down his proposal, in 1484 or 1485. Columbus then goes to Castile.
- c. 1486 – c. 1490Hernando de Talavera's commission examines Columbus's proposal in Castile
From about 1486 a commission headed by Hernando de Talavera, confessor to Queen Isabella, considers Columbus's plan. It meets only now and then and advises against it in 1490 (some sources say 1491); the monarchs overrule it in 1492.
- 1488Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa
Sent by John II, Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa in early 1488 and reaches Mossel Bay on 3 February, proving the Indian Ocean can be reached by sea. He first calls the Cape the Cape of Storms.
- August 3, 1492 – March 1493Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic and back
Sailing for Castile with three ships, Columbus crosses the Atlantic, reaches the Bahamas on 12 October 1492 and returns in March 1493, beginning sustained contact between Europe and the Americas.
- August 3, 1492Columbus sails from Palos de la Frontera with the Santa María, Pinta and Niña
Columbus leaves the Andalusian port of Palos on 3 August 1492 with three ships and about 90 men, heading for the Canary Islands. Some sources give 2 August.
- September 6, 1492Columbus leaves La Gomera in the Canary Islands for the open Atlantic
After repairing the Pinta's rudder at Gran Canaria, Columbus stops at La Gomera and sails west on 6 September 1492, the last land before the Atlantic crossing. The Castilian conquest of the Canaries gave him a base.
- October 12, 1492Columbus's fleet sights land at Guanahani in the Bahamas
A lookout on the Pinta sights land in the early hours of 12 October 1492. The island, Guanahani to its Lucayan Taíno people and renamed San Salvador by Columbus, is in the Bahamas; which modern island it was remains debated.
- March 1493Columbus returns to Europe and Portugal disputes Castile's claim
Storm-driven, Columbus's Niña reaches Lisbon on 4 March 1493 before going to Palos. John II of Portugal says the discoveries fall under earlier treaties, which leads to the papal bulls and the Treaty of Tordesillas.
- September 1493Columbus sails on his second voyage with 17 ships to settle Hispaniola
A fleet of 17 ships and over a thousand men, including settlers, soldiers and priests, leaves Cádiz in late September 1493. It is the first Spanish colonising expedition to the Americas.
- June 7, 1494Treaty of Tordesillas divides the world between Spain and Portugal
Spain and Portugal agree on 7 June 1494 on a line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Lands to the west are Spain's to explore and claim; those to the east are Portugal's. It replaces a papal line set the year before.
- July 8, 1497 – May 1498Vasco da Gama sails from Lisbon to India
Vasco da Gama leaves Lisbon on 8 July 1497 with four ships, rounds the Cape, crosses the Indian Ocean with a pilot from Malindi and reaches Calicut in May 1498, the first sea route from Europe to India.
- April 22, 1500Pedro Álvares Cabral sights Brazil
A Portuguese fleet under Cabral, bound for India, sights Monte Pascoal on the Bahia coast on 22 April 1500 and claims the land for Portugal. Dates for the landing at Porto Seguro vary between sources.
- 1536Cortés leads his last major expedition and reaches Baja California
In 1536 Cortés explores the Pacific coast of northwestern Mexico and is credited with discovering the Baja California peninsula. In 1539 Francisco de Ulloa names the Gulf of California the 'Sea of Cortés'.
- 1559Ramusio's Navigationi et viaggi prints an Italian text of Marco Polo
The second volume of Giovanni Battista Ramusio's Delle navigationi et viaggi (1559) includes an Italian version of Polo's Travels, a widely used text of the book in the Renaissance.
- 1573Drake becomes the first Englishman to see the Pacific
During his 1572-73 raids, Drake is led by Cimarrón allies to a ridge on the Isthmus of Panama and sees the Pacific Ocean in 1573. He vows to sail an English ship there.
- December 13, 1577 – September 26, 1580Drake sails around the world in the Golden Hind
Drake leaves Plymouth on 13 December 1577 and returns on 26 September 1580. He is the first Englishman to circle the globe, and raids Spanish ports and ships along the Pacific coast.
- June 1579Drake lands in California and claims Nova Albion for Elizabeth I
In June 1579 the Golden Hind anchors at a bay on the Pacific coast of North America, probably near Point Reyes. Drake claims the land for England as Nova Albion; the exact site is disputed.
- March 20, 1602The Dutch East India Company is founded
On 20 March 1602 the States General merge rival trading companies into the United East India Company (VOC), largely at Johan van Oldenbarnevelt's urging. It gets a 21-year monopoly in Asia and sells tradable shares.
- July 20, 1969Apollo 11 lands on the Moon
Armstrong and Aldrin become the first humans on the lunar surface.