AGE OF SEASAcquiring signal
Exploration archive · Routes
Read ten major ocean voyages through documented waypoints. Sources establish the principal nodes; unknown sea passages remain unknown, and open-ocean lines show sequence only.
Route index
Each dossier includes a quick answer, mission, ships, principal stops, result, disputed claims and authoritative sources, with two-way links to the people involved.
Where did Zheng He's fleets sail? Follow the recurring trunk route from China's southeast coast to Southeast Asia and Calicut, then its later branches toward Hormuz and East Africa.
How did Dias pass the cape? Follow the 1487–1488 route from Lisbon down western Africa, offshore through storms and back to land near Mossel Bay.
Where did the 1492 voyage go? Follow the three ships from Palos and the Canaries to the Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola, then home by a northern return arc.
Follow the 1497–1499 route from Lisbon through the South Atlantic and Cape, up the Swahili coast and across the monsoon passage to Calicut.
Follow one 1500–1501 expedition from Lisbon to Bahia, across to the Cape and onward into conflict and trade at Calicut and Cochin.
Follow the 1519–1522 route from Spain through the South American strait and across the Pacific, then home with Elcano aboard Victoria.
Follow Golden Hind from Plymouth through the Strait of Magellan, along Spanish Pacific routes and west across the Moluccas and Indian Ocean.
Follow Halve Maen from Amsterdam toward Arctic ice, then west across the Atlantic and up the river later named for Hudson.
Follow Heemskerck and Zeehaen from Batavia through Mauritius to Tasmania and New Zealand, then home by Tonga, Fiji and New Guinea.
Follow Endeavour from Plymouth around Cape Horn to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia's east coast, then home through Batavia and the Cape.
Route matrix
Some voyages served diplomacy, some sought commercial shortcuts, some announced scientific aims, and others included privateering and armed expansion from the outset.
| Voyage | Years | Principal ships | Objective and result |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Seven Voyages of Zheng HeZheng He, Wang Jinghong and other senior officers | 1405—1433 | A mixed fleet of large command, transport, supply and combat vessels; totals and dimensions vary by voyage and source | Diplomacy, tributary exchange, trade, escort and the projection of Ming state powerSeven changing route systems operated across almost three decades |
| Dias Rounds Southern AfricaBartolomeu Dias | 1487—1488 | São Cristóvão, São Pantaleão and a supply ship | Find a navigable connection around Africa toward the Indian OceanProof that the Atlantic route continued around southern Africa, without reaching India |
| Columbus's First Atlantic VoyageChristopher Columbus, with captains and officers across three ships | 1492—1493 | Niña, Pinta and Santa María | Seek Asia and its trade by sailing westArrival in the Caribbean, loss of Santa María and the beginning of sustained colonial contact |
| Vasco da Gama's First Voyage to IndiaVasco da Gama | 1497—1499 | São Gabriel, São Rafael, Berrio and a supply ship | Establish a direct Portuguese ocean route into the Indian spice tradeThe first recorded European fleet voyage around Africa to India, with limited trade and severe loss of life |
| Cabral's Voyage to Brazil and IndiaPedro Álvares Cabral, with Bartolomeu Dias and other captains | 1500—1501 | Thirteen ships at departure | Expand Portugal's trade and political position in IndiaA Portuguese claim in Brazil and an arrival in India at the cost of major ship and crew losses |
| The Magellan–Elcano CircumnavigationFerdinand Magellan through the Pacific stage; several successors, including Juan Sebastián Elcano on the returning Victoria | 1519—1522 | Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria and Santiago at departure | Reach the Spice Islands by a western route and strengthen Spain's claim to their tradeThe first recorded circumnavigation, completed by one returning ship after extreme human loss |
| Francis Drake's CircumnavigationFrancis Drake | 1577—1580 | A multi-ship fleet at departure; Golden Hind completed the circuit | Privateering, reconnaissance and attempted trade within Anglo-Spanish rivalryA second recorded circumnavigation and immense prize wealth |
| Henry Hudson's 1609 VoyageHenry Hudson | 1609 | Halve Maen | Find a northern route to Asia for the Dutch East India CompanyNo Asian passage; a European commercial record of New York harbour and the Hudson River |
| Abel Tasman's 1642–1643 VoyageAbel Tasman, with pilot-major Frans Visscher | 1642—1643 | Heemskerck and Zeehaen | Search for southern lands, trade and a possible route toward South AmericaEuropean records of Tasmania, New Zealand and Pacific islands without resolving the continent's shape |
| Cook's First Pacific VoyageJames Cook | 1768—1771 | HMS Endeavour | Observe the transit of Venus, then search for southern land and survey coastsMajor scientific collections and European charts that also advanced British territorial expansion |