Imagescalyiab0

Spain/Portugal Explorers

  • Prince Henry the Navigator
    Jan 1, 1394

    Prince Henry the Navigator

    He was a prince, soldier, and the funder of explorers. He sent many sailing expeditions down to Africa's west coast. They were to create much needed maps of the West African coast, to defeat the Muslims. more info
  • Christopher Columbus
    Jan 1, 1451

    Christopher Columbus

    He was an Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He was hoping to find a route to India. He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492-1504. more info
  • Amerigo Vespucci
    Jan 1, 1454

    Amerigo Vespucci

    He was an Italian explorer who was the first person to realize that the Americas were separate from the continent of Asia. America was named for him. On Vespucci's frist trip he discovered the mouth of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in South America, he thought that it was part of Asia. On his second trip he mapped some of the eastern coast of South America,& came to realize that it not part of Asia, but a New World.
    more info
  • Bartolomeu Dias
    Jan 1, 1457

    Bartolomeu Dias

    He was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who explored Africa's coast. He led the first European expedition to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. One of the first explorers to see Brazil. He died furing this expedition and he was lost at sea near the Cape of Good Hope. more info
  • Vasco de Gama
    Jan 1, 1460

    Vasco de Gama

    He discovered an ocean route from Portugal to the East. He sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, to India and back. Many people thought this was impossible to do because they assumed that the Indian Ocean was not connected to any other oceans. href='http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/d/dagama.shtml' >more info</a>
  • Ponce de Leon
    Jan 1, 1460

    Ponce de Leon

    He was a Spanish explorer and soldier who was the first European to set foot in Florida. He also established the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered the Gulf Stream. He was searching for the legendary fountain of youth and other riches. more info
  • Vasco Nunez de Balboa
    Jan 1, 1475

    Vasco Nunez de Balboa

    First European explorer to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. He sailed from Spain to Colombia searching for treasures along the norther coast of South America in the GUlf of Uraba. He then tired to farm there, unsuccessfully. more info
  • Fransisco Pizzaro
    Jan 1, 1478

    Fransisco Pizzaro

    He was a Spanish conquistador who traveled through a lot of the Pacific coast of America along Peru. He "discovered" the Incan empire and conquered it brutally and quickly, stealing a ton of gold, silver, and other treasures. He would fight in many wars. His common goal was to get riches. more info
  • Ferdinand Magellan
    Jan 1, 1480

    Ferdinand Magellan

    He was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth. He also named the Pacific Ocean. Magellan sailed to India and to the Far East many times. He sailed for his native Portugal, but a argument with the Portuguese King Manoel II turned him against the Portuguese. So he then sailed for Spain. more info
  • Hernan Cortes
    Jan 1, 1485

    Hernan Cortes

    He was a Spanish adventurer and conquistador who overthrew the Aztec empire and claimed Mexico for Spain. He eventually brutally killed the Aztec emperor. He sailed with 11 ships from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula to look for gold, silver, and other treasures. more info