1492-1550

By Jeffie_12345678901
  • Aug 3, 1492

    COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER

    Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, hoping to find a route. On his first trip, Columbus led an expedition with three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
  • Aug 23, 1499

    VESPUCCI, AMERIGO

    Amerigo Vespucci 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 in 1507, when the German mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller, printed the first map that used the name America for the New World.
  • Dec 5, 1499

    PINZON, VINCENTE

    Vincente Yáñez Pinzon was a Spanish explorer and navigator who sailed with Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to the New World, as captain of the Niña. His older brother, Martin Pinzon, was captain of the Pinta and the co-owner of both the Nina and the Pinta.
  • Sep 3, 1500

    ESTEVANICO

    Estevanico, also called Estevan, Esteban, Estebanico, Black Stephen, and Stephen the Moor was a Muslim slave from northern Africa (Azamor, Morocco) who was one of the early explorers of the Southwestern United States.
  • Sep 3, 1508

    URDANETA, ANDRES DE

    Andres de Urdaneta was a Spanish explorer who accompanied Garcia Jofre de Loaysa on the second sailing expedition around the world when he was 17 years old. On this 1525 trip, only one ship of the original seven survived.
  • Sep 3, 1510

    CORONADO, FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE

    Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was a Spanish ruler, explorer and conquistador. He was the first European to explore North America's Southwest.
  • Sep 3, 1519

    MAGELLAN, FERDINAND

    Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth. Magellan also named the Pacific Ocean (the name means that it is a calm, peaceful ocean).
  • Sep 3, 1524

    PIZARRO, FRANCISCO

    Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador who traveled through much of the Pacific coast of America along Peru. He "discovered" the Incan empire and conquered it brutally and quickly, stealing immense hoards of gold, silver, and other treasures.
  • Sep 3, 1527

    VACA, ALVAR NUNEZ CABEZA DE

    Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca [Cabeza de Vaca means "head of a cow was a Spanish explorer who sailed to North America from Spain, leaving in 1527. He traveled from Florida to Texas on a raft, then walked from Texas to Mexico City. He also explored the Paraguay River in South America. De Vaca and his fellow travelers were the first Europeans to see the bison, or American buffalo.
  • Mar 6, 1534

    CARTIER, JACQUES

    Jacques Cartier was 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 but did not find.