Short answer: The “age of exploration” is typically dated roughly from the early 15th century to the early 17th century, though the exact years vary by historian and region. Details

• Core timeframe: Most scholars place the onset in the early 1400s with Portuguese expansion along the African coast and the Atlantic, and the period often ends in the early 1600s when sustained global maritime exploration到了 a broader, more established global trading world. This general window is commonly summarized as the 15th to the early 17th centuries.

• Key drivers and events: The era was driven by advances in navigation and ship technology, the search for new trade routes to Asia, and the competition among European powers such as Portugal and Spain. Notable milestones include Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India (1498), Columbus’s transatlantic crossing (1492–1502), and the circumnavigation voyage of Magellan (1519–1522).

• Global impact: This period expanded geographical knowledge, catalyzed global trade networks, and had profound cultural, economic, and ecological consequences, including colonization and the Columbian Exchange. The timeline and emphasis can vary—some sources highlight earlier land-based explorations in the late Middle Ages as precursors, while others emphasize the maritime phase starting in the 15th century.

If you’d like, I can tailor the timeframe to a specific region (e.g., Europe, the Americas, Asia, or Africa) or align it with a particular historian’s model.