-
Leif Eriksson was a viking who hired a crew to set sail from Greenland. The land that Eriksson reached was part of what now is Canada. The vikings named the settlement that they found to spend the winter Vinland. They sailed there many times. One time, Leif's brother Thorvald led a trip. The vikings found 9 people sleeping under boats. They killed them all except one ran away.
-
Marco Polo left his home with his father and uncle to go to Asia. Marco was only 17 years old. After 4 years of riding horses and camels, they arrived in China. They saw the palace of Kublai Khan. They also went to India and Persia. Even though Marco never reached Japan, he described it from stories he heard. 24 years after leaving Venice, Marco returned with pockets full of jewels. 200 years later, a book about him was published.
-
The goods that Europeans wanted were gold, jewels, silk, perfumes, and especially spices. They used spices to make their food taste better. Later on, the Ottoman Turks captured the city of Constantinople, and took control of the Middle East. That closed the trade routes between Europe and Asia. There wouldn't be any more spices, gold, or silk unless someone discovered a different way to get them.
-
Bartholomeu Dias was the first to sail around the southern tip of Africa. His sailors got very sick and hungry. Dias wanted to sail to India, but his sailors made him turn around and go back to Portugal.
-
Martin Behaim made the first globe ever made in Europe. He called it "Earth apple." He made the globe too small. He didn't know about North and South America, Australia, or Antarctica.
-
Vasco da Gama sailed around the southern tip of Africa to India. Soon after that, he came back to Portugal with his ship full of spices. Showing the way for future explorations, da Gama finally found a sea route to Asia.
-
He was the first one to put America on a map or globe. He named it after Amerigo Vespucci.
-
He found a new ocean that will later be called the Pacific.
-
He was the first person to ever sail around the world. He was also the one to name the ocean, Pacific.
-
He took Motecuhzoma as a prisoner and captured the Aztecs treasures. He claimed the land for Spain.
-
He took the Incan emperor as a prisoner. He stole many riches such as gold and silver. He killed the Incan emperor.