Caravel

Early Explorers

By Josh F.
  • 1000

    Leif Eriksson - Viking

    Landed off the coast of modern day Canada because a storm blew his ship off course
  • 1487

    Bartolomeu Dias sailed for Portugal

    Bartolomeu Dias sailed for Portugal
    Sailed to the bottom of Africa and found the Cape of Good Hope
  • 1492

    Christopher Columbus Sailed for Spain

    Christopher Columbus Sailed for Spain
    Sailed across the Atlantic and thought he reached Asia even though it was the Americas.
  • 1493

    Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain

    Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain
    Sailed across the Atlantic and thought he reached Asia even though it was the Americas.
  • 1497

    Vasco da Gama sailed for Portugal

    Vasco da Gama sailed for Portugal
    1st to sail around Africa all the way to Asia
  • 1497

    John Cabot Sailed for England

    Went to find a Northwest passage through the Americas.
  • 1498

    Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain

    Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain
    Sailed across the Atlantic and thought he reached Asia even though it was the Americas.
  • 1499

    Amerigo Vespucci - Sailed for Spain

    Amerigo Vespucci - Sailed for Spain
    Sailed along the coast of S. America. He took such good notes about the coast that mapmakers were convinced this was not Asia and named the new land "America" in his honor.
  • 1500

    Pedro Alvares Cabral sailed for Portugal

    Pedro Alvares Cabral sailed for Portugal
    Tried to do what Vasco Da Gama did but swooped too far to Brazil.
  • 1502

    Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain

    Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain
    Sailed across the Atlantic for the 4th time and thought he reached Asia even though it was the Americas.
  • 1513

    Vasco Nunez de Balboa sailed for Spain

    Vasco Nunez de Balboa sailed for Spain
    Travels through Central America and is the first European to look at the Pacific Ocean, also known as the largest ocean on the Earth.
  • 1513

    Juan Ponce de Leon Sailed for Spain

    Juan Ponce de Leon Sailed for Spain
    Explored present day Florida trying to find the "fountain of youth."
  • 1519

    Hernando Cortes Sailed for Spain

    Hernando Cortes Sailed for Spain
    A conquistador who explored Mexico in 1519. Conquered the Aztec.
  • Period: 1519 to 1522

    Ferdinand Magellan - Sailed for Spain

    First European to circumnavigate the globe.
  • 1524

    Giovanni de Verrazano Sailed for France

    Sailed from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas trying to find the Northwest Passage.
  • Period: 1528 to 1536

    Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca Sailed for Spain

    Accompanied by Estevanico and others, explored the North American Southwest looking for the 7 cities of gold.
  • 1532

    Francisco Pizarro Sailed for Spain

    Explored the Andes mountains of South America and conquered the Inca Empire.
  • 1535

    Jacques Cartier Sailed for France

    Found a mountain and named it Mont-Royal
  • Period: 1539 to 1542

    Hernando de Soto Sailed for Spain

    Explored Florida and North Carolina discovered Mississippi River.
  • Period: 1540 to 1542

    Francisco Vasquez de Coronado Sailed for Spain

    Looking for the cities of gold but instead found the Grand Canyon.
  • 1542

    Juan Cabrillo Sailed for Spain

    He explorers up from Mexico and goes into modern day California.

  • Henry Hudson Sailed for Netherlands

    Found and named the Hudson River after himself.

  • Henry Hudson Sailed for England

    Found and named the Hudson Bay after himself
  • Period: to

    Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette Sailed for France

    Traveled the Mississippi River trying to find precious metals and the Northwest Passage but instead found that the river leads out to the Gulf of Mexico.

  • Robert Cavelier de La Salle Sailed for France

    Followed the Mississippi River and claimed modern day Louisiana for France and named it after King Louis XIV.