Timeline

1488		Rounding of the Cape of Good Hope
		Bartholomew Dias, a Portuguese explorer was the first European to navigate around the southern tip of the African continent.
1492	Aug 3	Columbus sets sail
		With three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, Columbus set sail across the Atlantic in search of a route to the Far East.
	Oct 12	Christopher Columbus 'discovers' America
		Christopher Columbus landed on what he thought was the east coast of Asia believing that there was no land between it and Europe but he had landed in the Caribbean and had discovered the 'Americas'.
1493	Nov 3	Christopher Columbus discovers Dominica island
		Christopher Columbus discovered Dominica island on a Sunday. The name is Latin for the word Sunday. The island should not be confused with the Dominican Republic which is a separate part of the Caribbean.
1496	Mar 5	Henry VII and John Cabot
		Henry VII granted John Cabot, his sons and heirs the power to explore unknown areas under the English flag. They were allowed to conquer these new lands. Although the Cabots had to fund the explorations themselves they only had to pay the Crown only one fifth of the money they made by selling the goods they found.
1497	May 2	John Cabot sets sail for Asia
		Under the English flag, John Cabot left Bristol on his voyage of exploration across the Atlantic to find a route to Asia and to open new trade routes.
	Jun	Cabot discovers Newfoundland
		Expecting to find the east coast of Asia Cabot and his fleet of explorers landed on what we now know as Newfoundland or Nova Scotia.
	Aug 6	Cabot returns from voyage
		John Cabot returned to Bristol after his voyage of discovery.
	Dec	Vasco de Gama rounds Cape of Good Hope
		Vasco de Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope to reach East Asia.
1498	May	Cabot disappears on voyage
		Cabot and a fleet of five ships sailed for America but were not heard from again.
1519	Aug 10	Magellan leaves Seville
		Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Seville with five ships in search of a passageway to the south of South America in order to reach the Pacific Ocean and the Far East.