1488★★★★★
The Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa, proving the Indian Ocean could be reached by sea.
Exploration· South Africa, Portugal
1480★★★★★
Ivan III of Moscow faces down the Great Horde, which withdraws; traditionally seen as the end of Tatar overlordship in Russia.
WarPolitics· Russia
January 2, 1492★★★★★
Emir Muhammad XII surrenders to Ferdinand and Isabella, ending the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula.
WarReligion· Spain
March 31, 1492★★★★★
Ferdinand and Isabella order the Jews of Castile and Aragon to convert or leave their kingdoms.
ReligionPolitics· Spain
April 8, 1492★★★★★
Lorenzo "the Magnificent", ruler of Florence and patron of artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo, dies.
DeathArt· Italy
June 7, 1494★★★★★
Spain and Portugal agree to divide newly found lands outside Europe along a meridian in the Atlantic.
TreatyExploration· Spain, Portugal