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Sep 15, 1254
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was an Italian voyager and merchant. He was one of the first Europeans to travel across Asia through China. He sailed south from Venice, Italy in the Mediterranean Sea to the Middle East. They went to Persia, through the Pamir Mountains and the Gobi Desert, to Beijing, China. He went from China, to India, to the Black Sea, back to Italy. He has written many accounts of his travels.
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Jan 1, 1450
John Cabot
John Cabot is an Italian navigator and explorer. In 1497 he discovered parts of North America. It was the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the North Vikings in the eleventh century. He landed on the island of Newfoundland. more info -
Jan 1, 1540
Francis Drake
Francis Drake sailed to the Isthmus Panama and planned to attack it for silver and gold. His first raid was in July, 1572. Drake and his men captured the town and its treasure. more info -
Jan 1, 1560
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was an english sea explorer and navigator. He made two attempts to find a northeast passage to Cathay, todays China. He explored the region around the New York Metropolitan area while looking for a western route to Asia. During his final expedition, he discovered a a strait and immense bay while searching the northeast passage. more info -
James Cook
James Cook set sail from England in 1768 on the Endeavor. His first stop was Rio De Janeiro. He then went to Tahiti and after that, got orders to explore and claim possessions for Britian. From there he went to tyhe West Indies. On his second voyage he claimed land masses near the South Pole between New Zealand and South America. On his third voyage he wanted to see if there was a northwest passage, mythical waterway, between Europe and Asia. <a href='http://geography.about.com/cs/captaincook/a -
Walter Raleigh
His first voyage was to find El Dorado, the legendary city of untold wealth. He also studied Venezuela. He also attacked Cadiz in a campaign with Earl the Essex. This was a military failure. more info -
Leif Ericson
Leif Ericson was a Norse explorer and the first European to land in North America. He started in Greenland and sailed west for 600 milesand found a land with high glaciers and rocks. He named it Helluland, which is now Baffin island. He continued and found another island and named it Markland. He then sailed southwest for twodays and found an island with a mainland behind it. The island had very rich land. He named it Vinland. more info
