Early Explorers

Prince Henry the Navigator

1419

Prince Henry the Navigator was not a explorer or navigator. Henry did however, sponsor many sailors, explorers, and navigators. Henry was responsible for much of the trade in the eastern continents. Henry was from Portugal.

Vasco Nunez de Balbo

1475

Vasco Nunez de Balbo helped establish the first settlement in South America. In searches for gold, he found the Pacific, he claimed these waters and shores for his country. Them having this water and land help them get more trading routes.

Bartolomeu Dias

1488

Bartolomeu Dias sailed for Europe, he was the first explorer to round the tip of Africa, finding a travel route to Asia. This was very important to Europe, they now had a much easier way to trade with India. He named the tip of Africa "The Cape Of Storms", but it was later renamed "Good Hope" to attract more people.

Leif Erickson

1492

Leif Erickson was the first European to found a settlement in present day Greenland. He is often believed to be the first European to reach the North American continent. He was thought to have reached North America centuries before Columbus.

Ferdinand Magellan

1492

Ferdinand Magellan sailed for Portuguese, in search for fame and riches he explored a western travel route to the spice islands. His voyages showed that Columbus's calculations were incorrect. The circumference of the world was longer then what Columbus calculated.

Christopher Columbus

1492

Columbus and 90 men set sail on a voyage that was thought to be a quicker way to Asia. Columbus sailed for Spain and his three boats were the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. After months of sailing, Columbus land on North America, he thought that he had landed on a small island in china. He miscalculated very badly because the maps that he had been studying did not include the Americas due to the fact that no one in Europe know that the Americas existed or how big the world really was at the time.

Vasco Da Gama

1497

Vasco Da Gama sailed for Europe, trying to rind a route to India. He discovered a sea route which established a long lasting relationship with Asia. This relationship made a colonial Empire between Asia and Africa possible.

John Cabot

1497

John Cabot is known for developing the idea of sailing west to find Asia. He was success on his voyage, he went to go tell Italy of his findings, but never made it back. He was lost at sea, and do this day, no one knows exactly what happened to him.

Amerigo Vespucci

May 10, 1497

Amerigo Vespucci is from Italy, on his third voyage he found present day Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata. He believed that he had found a new continent, and named South America "The New World". Vespucci was the first explorer to realize that the Americas weren't Asia.

Jaun Cabrillo

1499

Jaun Cabrillo was an explorer and soldier for Spain. His most known for his exploration of California, where he mapped out the area. He died of infection after being stabbed by Tongva tribesmen.

Jaun Ponce de Leon

1513

Jaun Ponce de Leon landed in Florida in 1513 in search of gold, riches, and the fountain of youth. The fountain of youth was a fountain that was said to give youth to old men. His exploration led to St. Augustine being founded in 1565.

Hernan Cortes

1519

Hernan Cortes landed in Mexico in 1519 in search of gold and riches for himself and Spain. He found an abundance of these gold and riches to take back to Spain. With these riches and gold he conquered the Aztec Empire which ruled the region. His success inspired other conquistadors to explore the Americas.

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

1528

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was one of the explorers that were a part of the spanish expedition to florida in 1528. After an upcoming conflict with the natives Alvar and 5 ships among him sailed south towards Mexico, three out the five boats, unfortunately, were lost to storms. The other two boats stayed on a beach in texas. Within a few months, many of the explorers had passed and there were only a handful of survivors.

Franciso Pizarro

1533

Franciso Pizarro was one of the many conquistadors to be inspired by Hernan Cortes. He led Spanish armies into Inca and arrested the Ruler, later executing him. Without their leader, the Inca's could not fight effectively and Franciso ruled the region. Franciso ruled the vast and wealthy Inca empire and spread the empire into the Americas.

Jacques Cartier

1535

Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence river in 1535, thinking that it would lead to the Pacific Ocean. Jacques didn't find the Pacific, but instead found a mountain peak that he named Mont-Royal. This mountain is now in present day Montreal

Hernando de Soto

1539

Hernando de Soto, excited after hearing about the success of other explorers, led a Spanish expedition to explore the southwestern United States. This group of explorers traveled for 3 years, following the stories of gold, when they encountered native people they were often violent. Hernando and his men crossed the Mississippi river in 1541. He later died, after traveling to Oklahoma, due to fever.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

1549

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado is one of the many explorers that searched for the seven cities of Cibola. He traveled through Northern Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico. Their expedition ended in Zuni in 1540, they didn’t find any gold. With no more hopes of finding gold, they traveled west to Colorado and settled, they didn’t find any gold, just “windswept plains” and “shaggy cows” (buffalo)

Samuel de Champlain

1608

Samuel de Champlain was a very important part of the french expansion into the new world. He founded Quebec, Canada, one of the oldest cities in Canada. He also explored New York, Ottawa River, and the eastern Great Lakes.

Henry Hudson

1609

Henry Hudson was in the U.S trying to find a passage through the Americas to India, he sailed for the Netherlands. In 1609 he found a river, now named after him, the Hudson River. In his ship, The Half Moon, he traveled up the river to present day Albany, New York. After deciding that he hadn't found a passage to India, he headed back to the Netherlands.

Henry Hudson pt. 2

1610

Henry Hudson was sent back to the Americas from England in 1610. On his trip, he found an enormous Bay, now named after him, The Hudson Bay, he thought that he had found the Pacific, so he spent months looking for an outlet. His crew got tired of looking for an outlet and set Hudson, his son, and some sailors on a small boat to never be seen again.

Rene-Robert De La Salle

1684

Rene-Robert De La Salle was a french explorer who explored America. He lead expedition down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries. He claimed land and riches for France.