Age of Discovery

The Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration, was a period during which Europeans explored Africa, North and South America, Asia and, starting in the 15th century and continuing until the 17th century.

After the Fall of Constantinople, the European trade routes to Asia and the were severed. Spain and Portugal began making plans to discover alternate routes to Asia; the most famous of these travels being that of Christoffa Corombo, funded by Queen Isabella I of Castile, whose journey led to the discovery of the West Indies, and the existence of the. Portuguese-funded journeys uncovered a path to the West Indies around Africa by Vasco da Gama.

The discovery of new lands outside the led to a period of colonization; countries such as Great Britain, Spain, France, Portugal and the  founded numerous colonies, resulting in the creation of colonial empires around the world.