- Antonio de Abreu (????-????)
- Led an expedition from Malaya to Sumatra, Java, and the Moluccas (1511)
- Alfonso de Albuquerque (1453-1515)
- Traveled around soutern Africa, up the east coast, past Arabia to the Persian Gulf, to Goa, then to the Strait of Malacca, as far as Malaya (1507-1511)
- Pedro Alvarez Cabral (1460-1526)
- Reached Brazil and claimed it for Portugal (1500)
- Negotiated the first Indo-Portuguese treaties for trade (1501)
- Diogo Cão (c1450-1486)
- Sailed down the Africa coast, explored along the Congo River, and went as far south as Cape St. Mary, Angola (1482)
- Sailed as far south as Namibia (21° 51′ S.), and stopped at the mouth of the Congo River on the return trip (1485)
- Pero da Covilhã (????-????)
- Sailed from Aden to the Malibar coast of India, then down the east coast of Africa, and back to Arabia (1487-1490)
- Bartolomeu Diaz (c1450-c1500)
- First European to reach Cape of Good Hope and to establish a route around Africa (1488)
- Vasco da Gama (c1469-c1524)
- Discovered a route to India via Cape of Good Hope (1495-1499)
- Diego Gomez (1440-1482)
- Discovered the coast of Liberia (1458)
- Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)
- Sailed around Cape Horn and across the Pacific to the Philippines, where he was killed (1519-1521)
- Balance of the trip completed by his crew under Juan del Cano (1521-1522)
- Henry the Navigator (1394-1460)
- With his navigators, explored and colonized Madeira, Cape Verde Islands, and the Azores
- João Rodrigues Cabrilho (????-1543)
- Explored the coast of California (1542)
