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1000
Leif Eriksson
He raided countries in Europe creating large trading networks. In 1000 he was blown off course because of a storm. He was the first European to reach North America. -
1415
Prince Henry the Navigator
He is the prince of Portugal. He founded a school for sailors. Studied navigation, map making, ship building, & astronomy. He also spent a lot of money on school and expeditions exploring the coast of Africa -
1488
Bartolomeu Dias Portuguese Sailor
He sailed from portugal southward made it to the bottom of africa. He was discovering the southern tip of africa, the Cape of Good Hope. -
1492
Christopher Columbus
His voyages led to new exchanges between Europe, Africa And the Americans. He sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and reached a continent that was previously unknown to him. After Columbus 's voyages, other explorers sailed to the Americans. -
1497
Vasco da Gama Portuguese Sailor
He sailed around Africa and all the way to india. Winning the European race for a sea route to asia. -
1497
John Cabot Italian sailor
He was sailing for the english, searching for a passage to the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Canada and Newfoundland. -
1501
AMerigo Vespucci
On 1499 voyage, Vespucci sailed to the northern part of South America and into the Amazon River. He gave places he saw names like the "Gulf of Ganges" thinking as his explorer contemporaries did, that he was in Asia -
1513
Juan Ponce de Leon
He explored present-day florida in 1513 looking for the fountain of youth. -
1513
Vasco Nunez de Balbo
He helped establish the first stable settlement on the South American continent at Darien, on the coast of the Isthmus of Panama. In 1513 while leading a expedition in search of gold, he sighted the Pacific Ocean. -
1519
Hernando Cortes Conquistadors
He explored mexico in 1519. He also conquered the Aztec. -
1519
Ferdinand Magellan
He became the first European to sail the Pacific Ocean, and the first to sail around the world. His voyages proved that the earth is round. -
1527
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
He was accompanied by Estevanico (a slave) and others, explored the North american Southwest looking for 7 cities of gold. -
1530
Francisco Pizarro Conquistador
Francisco explored the andes mountains of south america and conquered the Inca empire. -
1534
Jacques Cartier
He sailed down Saint Lawrence river all the way to present-day Montreal, claiming the lands for france. -
1538
Hernando de Soto
He explored Florida and North carolina. He also discovered the Mississippi river. -
1540
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
He discovered the Grand Canyon. Also in North american Southwest, looking for cities of gold. -
1542
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
He was a maritime explorer best known for investigations of the west coast of north america, undertaken on behalf of the spanish empire. -
Samuel de Champlain
He began exploring North America in 1603, establishing the city of Quebec in northern colony of New France, and mapping the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes, before setting into an administrative role as the de facto governor of New France in 1620. -
Henry Hudson
He made two unsuccessful voyages in search of an ice-free passage to Asia -
Henry Hudson English captain
He led a Dutch expedition to present-day New York in 1609 -
Rene-Robert de La Salle
Claimed lands along the Mississippi River and in the Mississippi Valley.
