Columbus reaches the Americas
The Old World and the New are linked for good
Christopher Columbus, sailing for Spain in search of a western route to Asia, landed on the Bahamian island of Guanahani on 12 October 1492. It began lasting contact between the Old and New Worlds, transforming both hemispheres.
Wikipedia (English) · 15th century
Did you know
The Horde's rule over Rus' ended with the Great Stand on the Ugra in 1480 — only 12 years before Columbus reached the Americas.
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- 1492 Fall of Granada — same year
- 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas — 2 years later
- 1508–1512 Sistine Chapel ceiling — 16 years later
- 1517 Luther's Ninety-five Theses — 25 years later
Eastern Europe & Russia
- 1478 Annexation of Novgorod by Moscow — 14 years earlier
- 1480 Great Stand on the Ugra River — 12 years earlier
Middle East
- 1501 Founding of Safavid Iran — 9 years later
Africa
- 1488 Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope — 4 years earlier
Asia
- 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches India — 6 years later
- 1511 Portuguese capture of Malacca — 19 years later
Alive at the time
- Christopher Columbus (aged 41)
- Leonardo da Vinci (aged 40)
- Nicolaus Copernicus (aged 19)
- Michelangelo (aged 17)
- Martin Luther (aged 9)
- Ivan III (aged 52)
- Isabella I of Castile (aged 41)
- Henry VII (aged 35)
- Maximilian I (aged 33)
- Moctezuma II (aged 26)