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  Henry the Navigator explored southward along the coast of africa, he wanted someone to frind a route around tht continent.
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  Christopher Columbus thought that Asia could be reached by sailing west from Europe.
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  Vasco de Gama fround such a route and sailed all the way to India.
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  John Cabot was an Italian living in Englad, in 1497 King Henry VII sent Cabot on a voyage to the west.
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  Juan Ponce de leon was a Spanish official in the New World. In 1508-1509 he explored and settledmthe island of Puerto Rico.
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  In 1524 King Francis I of France sent Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazano westward. Verrazano first reached land at North Carolina's Outer Banks.
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  Hernando de soto sailed with a military expedition from Havana cuba
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  In 1562 France sent a colony under the command of the Jean Ribault to Noth America.
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  The Colonists were Huguenots or French Protestants, Protestants were sometimes perscuted in Catholic France.
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  Despite the reportedly favorable conditions at Port Royal, the colonist gave up in 1564 and returned to France. That same year, another band of Huguenots, led by Rene de Laudonniere
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  Ferdinand and Isabella to suport an expedition or trip of exploration.