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1000
Lief Erikson Sailed for Greenland
Erikson sailed off course on his way back to Greenland and landed on the North American continent, where he explored a region he called Vinland. After spending the winter in Vinland, Leif sailed back to Greenland, and never returned to North American shores. -
1418
Henry the Navigator Sailed for Portugal
Prince of Portugal
Founded a school for sailors
Studied navigation, mapmaking, shipbuilding, & astronomy
Spent lots of $$$ -
1488
Bartolomeu Dias Sailed for Portugal
In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias sailed from Portugal southward. He made it to the bottom of Africa. Dias discovered the southern tip of Africa. Doing this, Dias found the Cape of Good Hope. -
1492
Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain
He sailed four voyages. His first one was in 1492, second in 1493, third in 1498, and his last was in 1502. His most important one was his first voyage in 1492. In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue in search of a new world. -
1497
Amerigo Vespucci
America was named for Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed to South America in 1501. On May 10, 1497, explorer Amerigo Vespucci embarked on his first voyage. On his third and most successful voyage, he discovered present-day Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata. -
1497
Vasco da Gama Sailed for Portugal
Sailed from Lisbon in 1497 on a mission to reach India and open a sea route from Europe to the East. He beat that mission. -
1497
John Cabot Sailed for England
Sailed for the English. He searched for a passage to the Pacific. In May 1497, with the support of the English king Henry VII, Cabot sailed west from Bristol on the Matthew in the hope of finding a route to Asia. On 24 June, he sighted land and called it New-found-land. He believed it was Asia and claimed it for England. -
1513
Francisco Pizzaro Sailed for Spain
He led an army to the Inca capital. Francisco Pazarro’s goal was to rule the vast and wealthy Inca empire. The goal of the Spanish was to overtake and eliminate the Aztec and Inca empire. -
1513
Juan Ponce de Leon Sailed for Puerto Rico
He landed in present day Florida. His goal was not only to find gold but to also find the Legendary fountain of youth. His exploration led to the first Spanish settlement which is now the United States. -
1513
Vasco Nunez de Balboa Sailed for Spain
He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513. He then became the first European to lead an expedition to have been able to see or reach the Pacific from the New World. -
1519
Ferdinand Magellan Sailed for Portugal
Ferdinand Magellan headed an expedition in 1519 that circumnavigated the world. Was a Portuguese explorer who planned and made the his expedition from 1519-1522. -
1519
Hernan Cortes Sailed for Spain
Was a conquistador who explored Mexico in 1519. He had two goals. The first was to conquer the Aztec empire, which he did. The other was to find gold. -
1528
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca Sailed for Spain
He was part of a Spanish expedition to Florida in 1528. His expedition sailed south towards Mexico. His goal was to find the seven cities of gold. -
1534
Jacques Cartier Sailed for France
Sailed down the Saint Lawrence river. He sailed all the way to present-day Florida and claimed the land as France. -
1538
Hernando de Soto Sailed for Spain
He was excited by the stories of the cities of gold. His goal was to search for gold. For three years he did this searching for the gold from Alvar Nunez’s stories. -
1540
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado Sailed for Spain
His goal was to also find the seven cities of gold. His travels took him through Northern Mexico, present-day Arizona, and New Mexico. In 1540 he stopped looking because he couldn’t find any gold. -
Jun 27, 1542
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Sailed for Spain
On June 27, 1542, Cabrillo set out from Navidad with three ships: the 200-ton galleon and flagship, San Salvador the smaller La Victoria (c. 100 tons), and the lateen-rigged, twenty-six oared "fragata" or "bergantin" . -
Samuel de Champlain Sailed for France
Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer famous for his journeys in modern day Canada. During his travels, he mapped the Atlantic coast of Canada, parts of the St. Lawrence River, and parts of the Great Lakes. -
Henry Hudson Sailed for England
Henry Hudson-Led a dutch expedition to present day New York in 1609. This was his first expedition. He took charge of the Half Moon with the objective of discovering a northern route to Asia by heading north of Russia. -
Henry Hudson Sailed for England
In June 1611, as the expedition began heading back to England, sailors Henry Green and Robert Juet (who had been demoted as mate) led a mutiny. Seizing Hudson and his son, they cast them adrift on Hudson Bay in a small open lifeboat, along with seven other men who were suffering from scurvy. Hudson was never heard from again. -
Rene-Robert De La Salle Sailed for France
French explorer in North America, who led an expedition down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and claimed all the region watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries for.
