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Period: 1420 to 1460
Prince Henry The Navigator of Portugal
He sponsored many voyages to several islands in the Atlantic, which were the Azores, Maderia, and the canaries. He also sent explorers to the coast of Western Africa. -
Period: 1481 to 1488
King John II of Portugal
He sent multiple explorers down the western coast of Africa in hopes of eventually reaching Asia. A ship captain named Bartholomew Dias pushed the furthest and reached the southern tip of Africa and the Indian Ocean. -
Period: 1492 to 1506
Christopher Columbus
Although he was Italian, his expeditions were sponsored by the Spanish queen, Isabella of Castile. He and his fleet visited the Canary Islands, the Bahamas, the northeastern coast of Cuba, and the West Indies. -
Period: 1497 to 1498
John Cabot
He was an Italian explorer commissioned by King Henry VII to find a route to Asia, he did not find it but he during his expedition he explored Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador. -
Period: 1500 to 1501
Pedro Alvares Cabral of Portugal
He sailed from Portugal to India, and on the way discovered Brazil. -
Period: 1519 to 1522
Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal
Even though he was Portugese, his voyages were sponsored by Spain. He sailed around South America and across an ocean which he named the Pacific, and he reached the Philippines where he and most of the other crew members was killed by the natives. -
Period: 1519 to 1521
Hernando Cortes
He was a Spanish Conquistador who gathered an army of Spanish soldiers and Natives to conquer the Aztec. He traveled to the Valley of Mexico where they were located and were partially successful in taking over, until an uprising occurred and they were forced out. -
Period: 1524 to 1528
Giovanni de Verrazzano
Although he was Italian, his voyage to America were sponsored by King Francis I of France, and he sailed along the coast of America, passing the Carolinas and ending up at Nova Scotia. He also visited Manhattan Island on the way. -
Period: 1535 to 1542
Jaques Cartier of France
He was an explorer who was sent by King Francis to find Asia but, like Giovanni de Verrazzano, didn't find Asia, only parts of North America. He sailed into the mainland on a river he named St. Lawrence and found what is now modern day Montreal. -
Period: 1540 to 1542
Francisco de Coronado of Spain
He explored North America and explored Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. -
Period: 1577 to 1580
Sir Francis Drake of England
He sailed around the world as a sea dog hired by Queen Elizabeth I to raid and loot Spanish ships. He returned in 1580. -
Period: to
Samuel de Champlain
He was part of the permanent settlement in New France, and during his time there he explored New France and the Great Lakes, until King Louis XIII ordered him to halt any more exploration and assume the position of governor.