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1000
Leif Eriksson
Leif began sailing to Norway to be converted into a Christian around A.D 1000,Leif Eriksson sailed off course on his way back to Greenland and landed on America and was the first Europeans to have step foot on North America 500 years before Columbus -
1433
Prince Henry the Navigator/sailed for Prince of Portugal
Prince Henry sailed down the west coast of Africa to see Portuguese sailors try to find the Muslim world and Christian priest that did not exist -
1488
Bartolomeu Dias/sailed for King João II
Dias became the first European mariner to round the Southern tip of Africa opening the way for a sea route from Europe to Asia -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus Sailed for Spain
Christopher Columbus thought he could sail from Europe to Asia to try to find a new trade route to China and the spice lands before that could happen there was a signal from the Pinta ship that signaled they spotted land and believed they landed in the Indies but really landed in North America. -
1497
John Cabot/sailed for King Henry VII of England
Cabot sailed west from Bristol to Canada in hope of finding a new route to Asia and landed in Canada which he thought was Asia and claimed it for England -
May 10, 1497
AMerigo Vespucci/sailed for Spain
On his 1st he embarked but on his 3rd voyage he discovered a new continent south of North America and named it the New World and in 1507 it was named after him -
1498
Vasco Da Gama/sailed for Portuguese king
He was the first European to find an ocean trading route to India -
1511
Hernan Cortes
He lead an expedition that lead the Aztec Empire to fall and claimed Mexico on behalf of Spain -
1513
Vasco Nunez de Balboa/sailed for King Ferdinand
He was the first European to lead an expedition to have seen the Pacific Ocean -
1513
Juan ponce de Leon
He lead the first official European expedition to LaFlorida that he named during his first voyage to that area and sailed down to Florida Keys and North along the Gulf Coast to try and find the Fountain of Youth -
Sep 20, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan/sailed for Spain
He set out with five ships from Spain to find a Western sea route to the Spice islands and became the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean -
Nov 5, 1528
Alavr Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
He got in a shipwreck on a little island off the Texas coastline de Vaca and three other Europeans were one of the first Europeans to explore the south part of America -
Nov 15, 1532
Francisco Pizarro
He explored for the Incas and is best known for conquering the Inca Empire and executing their leader Atahuapla -
Jun 9, 1534
Jacques Cartier/sailed for King Francis I of France
He was sent by King Francis I of France to lead a voyage to the New World and find gold and other riches including a new route to Asia but instead he and his expedition found and explored the western coast of Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence -
1540
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado/sailed under Spain
He and his expedition discovered the Grand Canyon and lots of other famous landmarks down South of America while they searched for the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola that they never found -
May 8, 1541
Hernando de Soto
He and his expedition became the first Europeans to have seen and crossed the Mississippi River -
Sep 28, 1542
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo/sailed under Portuguese
He was the first European to explore California and to discover the San Diego Bay while searching for a mythical all water route across North America and failed -
Samuel de Champlain
He mapped the Atlantic Coast of Canada and discovered Quebec then later founded Quebec and is known as the Father of France -
Henry Hudson #1/sailed for Dutch East India
Hudson was hired to find a shorter route to Asia from Europe through the Arctic Ocean when he made his first voyage but failed twice and was turned back by ice -
Henry Hudson #2/sailed Dutch east India
Hudson made his 3rd and 4th voyage to North America and discovered the Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay. -
Rene-Robert De La Salle/sailed for King Louis XIV
He led an expedition down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and explored the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico and claimed all the Mississippi basin for his country France
