-
1000
Lief Eriksson- Vikings
1st European to reach North America -
1488
Bartolomeu Dias sailed for Portugal
Sailed to the bottom of Africa and found the Cape of Good hope(Bottom of Africa) -
1492
Christopher Columbus- sailed for Spain
1st trip sailed to North America, across the Atlantic Ocean, beileved he had reached Asia -
1493
Christopher Columbus- sailed for Spain
His 2nd voyage to the Americas across the Atlantic Ocean -
1497
John Cabot- sailed for England
Cabot sailed to Canada in 1497, commanding the small ship called "Matthew." Cabot landed near Labrador, Newfoundland, or Cape Breton Island (the exact spot is uncertain) on June 24, 1497. One of John Cabot's three sons, the explorer Sebastian Cabot, accompanied him on this trip. Cabot claimed the land for England. -
1497
Vasco da Gama sailed for Portugal
1st to sail around Africa all the way to Asia -
1498
Christopher Columbus- sailed for Spain
His 3rd voyage to the Americas across the Atlantic Ocean -
1499
Americgo 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 Alavres Cabral sailed for Portugal
On his way around Africa he went to wide and ended up in Brazil, South America -
1502
Christopher Columbus- sailed for Spain
His 4th voyage to the Americas across the Atlantic Ocean -
1513
Vasco Nunez de Balboa sailed for Spain
He travels through central America and is the 1st European to see the Pacific Ocean (largest ocean on earth) -
1513
Juan Ponce de Leon- sailed for Spain
explored present-day Florida in 1513, looking for the "fountain of youth" -
1519
Hernando Cortes- sailed for Spain
a conquistador who explored Mexico in 1519. Conquered the Aztec -
Period: 1519 to 1522
Ferdinand Magellan- sailed for Spain
1st European to circumnavigate the globe. -
1524
Giovanni de Varrazano- sailed for France
Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485-1528) was an Italian navigator who, in 1524, explored the northeast coast of North America from Cape Fear, North Carolina to Maine while searching for a Northwest passage to Asia. -
Period: 1528 to 1536
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
accompanied by Estevanico (a slave) and others, explored the North American Southwest looking for 7 cities of gold -
1532
Francisco Pizarro-sailed for Spain
a conquistador who explored the Andes Mountains of South America and conquered the Inca Empire -
Apr 20, 1534
Jacques Cartier-sailed for france
a French explorer who led three expeditions to Canada, in 1534, 1535, and 1541. He was looking for a route to the Pacific through North America (a Northwest Passage) but did not find one -
Period: 1539 to 1542
Hernando de Soto- sailed for Spain
explored Florida and North Carolina discovered Mississippi -
Period: 1540 to 1542
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado-sailed for Spain
cont. in North American Southwest, looking for cities of gold, discovered the Grand Canyon (in AZ) -
1542
Juan Cabrillo-sailed for Spain
He explores up from Mexico and goes into modern day California -
Henry Hudson
Hudson was then hired by the Dutch East India Company in 1609, to try to find the Northwest Passage farther south. On this trip in a ship called the Half Moon, Hudson sailed to Nova Scotia, and then sailed south. He found what is now called the Hudson River. Hudson sailed into New York's harbor on September 3, 1609 and noted what an excellent harbor it was. -
Period: to
Henry Hudson
A 1610-1611 trip through the Hudson Strait and into Hudson Bay ended in a mutiny. Hudson died in 1611 after his crew mutinied and left Hudson, his son, and seven crew members adrift in a small, open boat in Hudson Bay. -
Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette
Found the Mississippi River in 1673; they were the first Caucasians to see the Mississippi River. Together, they travelled along Lake Michigan to Green Bay, canoed up the Fox River, and went downstream on the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi River. They travelled almost to the mouth of the Arkansas, and then stopped because they were warned of hostile Indians and Spanish explorers. Marquette's diary is all that remains of their journey. Joliet expanded fur trade westward -
Robert Cavelier de La Salle
. He was sent by King Louis XIV to travel south from Canada and sail down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first European to travel the length of the Mississippi River (1682). His mission was to explore and establish fur-trade routes along the river. La Salle named the entire Mississippi basin Louisiana, in honor of the King, and claimed it for France on April 9, 1682. He also explored Lake Michigan (1679), Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario
