Pacific Early Explorers Map, 1520 - 1722

This map shows the early explorations of the Pacific region conducted by European explorers. They were interested in discovering trading routes from Europe to the Spice Islands but recorded much else besides. The Portuguese ended up controlling access to the Asia Pacific region round the Cape of Good Hope, whilst the Spanish attempted to control access round the tip of South America. This did not stop Dutch, English and French explorers from attempting to discover their own routes and conducting their own reconnaissance and explorations of the region.