AGE OF SEASAcquiring signal
航海档案 · 人物
Explorers are more than names.
They navigated power as well as seas.
Enter each voyage through the people behind it: see who sponsored them, which ships they used, which ports they reached, and what traditional hero narratives leave out.
- People profiles
- 10
- Linked voyages
- 10
- Source standard
- Verifiable
人物索引
Identify the person. Then trace the route.
Each profile brings biography, principal voyages, controversies and sources together. Claims of “discovery” describe a particular European record; the places reached already had histories of their own.
01c. 1371—1433
Ming China · Envoy and fleet commander
Zheng He
Who was Zheng He? Follow the seven state voyages, their ports and purposes, and the way Ming fleets entered established Indian Ocean networks.
Zheng HeMing treasure voyagesseven voyages of Zheng He
Open profile ↗
02c. 1450—1500
Portugal · Navigator and fleet commander
Bartolomeu Dias
How did Dias round southern Africa? Trace the 1487–1488 voyage, the cape's names and the evidence the expedition supplied for a sea route to India.
Bartolomeu DiasCape of Good HopeDias route
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031451—1506
Genoa; sailed for the Crown of Castile · Navigator and colonial governor
Christopher Columbus
Who was Columbus? Examine the purpose and consequences of four Atlantic voyages—and what the phrase 'discovered America' leaves out.
Christopher Columbus1492 voyageColumbus route
Open profile ↗
04c. 1460/1469—1524
Portugal · Navigator and fleet commander
Vasco da Gama
How did da Gama sail from Portugal to India? Follow the 1497–1499 route, its ships, East African ports and the monsoon crossing.
Vasco da Gamasea route to Indiada Gama route
Open profile ↗
05c. 1480—1521
Portugal; sailed for the Spanish Crown · Navigator and expedition commander
Ferdinand Magellan
Did Magellan circumnavigate the world? Trace the strait, the Pacific crossing, his death at Mactan and Elcano's return aboard Victoria.
Ferdinand Magellanfirst circumnavigationStrait of Magellan
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06c. 1467/1468—c. 1520
Portugal · Fleet commander
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Why did Cabral reach Brazil before India? Follow the 1500 fleet across the South Atlantic and into Portuguese expansion on both sides of the ocean.
Pedro Álvares CabralBrazil and India voyageCabral route
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07c. 1540—1596
England · Privateer and naval commander
Francis Drake
Explorer or pirate? Follow Drake's circumnavigation, Golden Hind, Crown-backed privateering and earlier participation in the slave trade.
Francis DrakeGolden HindDrake circumnavigation
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08c. 1565—missing after 1611
England · Navigator and northern-route explorer
Henry Hudson
What route was Hudson seeking? Trace four northern voyages, the river and bay later given his name, and the mutiny that ended the final expedition.
Henry HudsonHudson RiverHudson Bay
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091603—1659
Dutch Republic · VOC navigator
Abel Janszoon Tasman
Where did Tasman sail in 1642? Follow the route past Tasmania, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji—and the VOC's search for profitable geography.
Abel Tasman1642 voyageTasman route
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101728—1779
Great Britain · Naval officer and hydrographer
James Cook
What did Cook's three Pacific voyages do? Connect Endeavour, the transit of Venus, coastal surveying and the expansion of British imperial claims.
James CookHMS EndeavourCook’s Pacific voyages
Open profile ↗横向比较
Ten people, working within different systems of sponsorship and seafaring.
Set their dates, roles, affiliations and principal voyages side by side, and the so-called Age of Discovery no longer looks like one movement driven by a single motive.
| Person | Active years | Affiliation and role | Principal voyage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zheng He | c. 1371—1433 | Ming ChinaEnvoy and fleet commander | The Seven Voyages of Zheng He ↗ |
| Bartolomeu Dias | c. 1450—1500 | PortugalNavigator and fleet commander | Dias Rounds the Cape ↗ |
| Christopher Columbus | 1451—1506 | Genoa; sailed for the Crown of CastileNavigator and colonial governor | Columbus’s First Voyage ↗ |
| Vasco da Gama | c. 1460/1469—1524 | PortugalNavigator and fleet commander | Vasco da Gama’s First Voyage to India ↗ |
| Ferdinand Magellan | c. 1480—1521 | Portugal; sailed for the Spanish CrownNavigator and expedition commander | The First Circumnavigation ↗ |
| Pedro Álvares Cabral | c. 1467/1468—c. 1520 | PortugalFleet commander | Cabral’s Voyage to Brazil and India ↗ |
| Francis Drake | c. 1540—1596 | EnglandPrivateer and naval commander | Francis Drake’s Circumnavigation ↗ |
| Henry Hudson | c. 1565—missing after 1611 | EnglandNavigator and northern-route explorer | Henry Hudson’s 1609 Voyage ↗ |
| Abel Janszoon Tasman | 1603—1659 | Dutch RepublicVOC navigator | Abel Tasman’s 1642–1643 Voyage ↗ |
| James Cook | 1728—1779 | Great BritainNaval officer and hydrographer | Cook’s First Pacific Voyage ↗ |