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1000
Leif Erikson (Vikings)
Explored lands west of Greenland then sailed to Norway. -
1271
Marco Polo (Italy)
Traveled to China and opened up trade routes to East India and China, increasing trade. -
Aug 1, 1487
Bartolomeu Dias (Portugal)
Traveled past the southernmost part of Africa and discovered the Cape of Good Hope. King hoped it would be a new route to India. -
Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus (Spain)
Traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to try to find a faster trade route to Asia. He accidentally stumbled upon America. -
May 1, 1497
John Cabot (England)
Traveled to find a northern sea route to Asia but instead landed in present-day Newfoundland. -
Jul 1, 1497
Vasco Da Gama (Portugal)
Traveled in a wide arc south and west of Africa to go around the Cape of Good Hope. He discovered a sea route to Asia. -
1499
Amerigo Vespucci (Spain)
Explored coast of South America just to find out that it is not a part of Asia and that it is its own separate continent. -
Mar 9, 1500
Pedro Alvarez Cabral (Portugal)
Traveled to Brazil and claimed it for the king. -
1513
Vasco Nunez de Balboa (Spain)
Traveled through rainforests of Panama. First European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. -
Mar 1, 1513
Juan Ponce de Leon (Spain)
Landed on east coast of present-day Florida. Led to first Spanish settlement in the United States. -
1519
Hernan Cortes (Spain)
Traveled to present-day Mexico and conquered the Aztec Empire. -
Aug 10, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan (Portugal)
Traveled the southernmost tip of Africa. Named the Pacific Ocean. After he died, his crew continued and became the first people to sail around the world. -
1523
Francisco Pizarro (Spain)
Traveled to the Incan capital in Cuzco, Peru and took control of the empire. -
Jan 17, 1524
Giovanni da Verrazano (France)
Sent to look for northern route. Explored coast of North America from present-day Nova Scotia down to Carolinas. -
1528
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (Spain)
Traveled to Florida then Mexico. Spread stories about the "seven cities of gold." -
Apr 20, 1534
Jacques Cartier (France)
Sailed up the St. Lawrence River. Discovered a mountain he named Mont-royal which later led to the naming of Montreal. -
Apr 1, 1538
Hernando de Soto (Spain)
Explored Florida in 1539. -
1540
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (Spain)
Went to look for the seven cities of gold but instead found Kansas. -
Sep 28, 1542
Juan Cabrillo (Spain)
Discovered California. -
Jun 7, 1576
Martin Frobisher (England)
Traveled to the New World in search of the Northwest Passage. Traveled through Frobisher Bay, named after him. Sighted Canada. -
Juan de Onate (Spain)
Traveled up through Mexico and founded New Mexico. -
Henry Hudson (Netherlands)
Sailed north on the Hudson river and discovered Hudson Bay. -
Louis Joliet (France)
Traveled with Jacques Marquette up the Mississippi River hoping to find precious metals and Northwest Passage. Discovered that the Mississippi River flowed south into the Gulf of Mexico. -
Jacques Marquette (France)
Traveled with Louis Joliet up the Mississippi River hoping to find precious metals and Northwest Passage. Discovered that the Mississippi River flowed south into the Gulf of Mexico. -
Robert Cavalier de La Salle (France)
Followed Mississippi River up into the Gulf of Mexico and discovered Louisiana.
