Explorers

Leif Ericsson

Jan 1, 1000

He was born around 980 AD in Iceland. Leif Ericsson sail down to Baffin Island in the year 1000 with a crew of 35. He later sailed to Labrador, and later to Newfouldland in 1001, which he called Vinland. He and his crew returned to Greenland on 1002, and inherited his fathers position as leader of the Norse Colony in Greenland.

Explorers

Period: Jan 1, 1000 to Jan 1, 1800

Prince Henry

Sep 11, 1420

Prince Henry the Navigator was born in 1394. He was a Royal Portegese Prince, soldier, and a patron of explorers. He sent many ships to the west coast of Africa, but he didn't go himself. In about 1418 Prince Henry stated a school of oceanic navigation which also taught map making and more.

Bartolomeu Dias

Jan 1, 1488

Bartolomeu Dias was born in 1457, he was a great Portuguese explorer. He left Portugal in 1488 he led the first European expedition around the Cape of Good Hope and opened up new trade routes with Asia.

Christopher Columbus

Aug 3, 1492

Christopher Columbus was born in 1451, in Genoa, Italy. He then moved to portugal, to ask the Portegese King for funds, for his voyage west to asia. He didn't get them so he then moved to Italy to ask Queen Isabella for funds, and after 6 years he was granted them. He set sail on August 3, 1492 with a crew of 90 men. They sailed for over two months and finaly spotted land on 10/11/1492. He had found the Caribbean Islands, which he though were the indies so He called the people there the Indians.

Christopher Columbus

Sep 25, 1493

On his next voyage he sailed with 17 ships and about 1,500 men to dig for gold and capture slaves. He established a base in Hispaniola. He sailed around hispaniola and on to Cuba, he then spotted and named the island of Dominica on November 3, 1493, and returned home in 1496.

John Cabot

Jun 24, 1497

Giovanni Cabot was born in 1450 , in Italy. He moved to England in about 1495 and his name was changed to John. At the request of King Henry VII of England Cabot sailed to Canada in 1497. Cabot landed near Labrador, Newfoundland, or Cape Breton Island on June 24, 1497. He claimed the land for England. The purpose of the voyage was to find a N.W. passage through N.A.,Cabot was unsuccessful, although he thought that he had reached northeastern Asia.

Vasco Da Gama

Jul 8, 1497

Gama was born in 1460, in Portugal. Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, on July 8, 1497, heading East. He rounded the Cape of Good Hope on November 22 and countinued on to India, he got there on May 20, 1498. On August 29, 1498, he left India after being told to pay a heavy tax and leave the goods. He took the goods along with hostages, and on their return they were treated like heros.

John Cabot

Jan 1, 1498

His second exedition might have took him to America which is uncertain, but he was Brittains first claim to Canada. Cabot died in England in 1499.

Christopher Columbus

May 30, 1498

On his third voyage he sailed farther south to Trinidad and Venezuela.He was looking for treasure. He was the first European since Leif Ericsson to set foot on mainland America. This voyage lasted until October of 1500.

Bartolomue Dias

Jan 1, 1500

On his next expediton was in 1500, he was accompanied by Pedro Álvares Cabral, he sailed near South America on his way to Africa and spotted Espírito Santo in Brazil, and called it "Land of the True Cross." He thought it to be an island but he was really one of the first Europeans to see Brazil. Dias died on this expedition near the Cape of Good Hope in 1500.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa

Sep 10, 1500

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was born in 1475, in Spain. He was a conquistador and in 1500 he sailed with Rodrigo de Bastidas to Columbia. They searched for pearls and gold, but were later forced to abandon their ship. He died in 1519.

Vasco da Gama

Jan 1, 1502

On his second trip, da Gama took 20 armed ships. On this voyage, da Gama killed hundreds of Muslims, often brutally, to demonstrate his power. After King Manuel's death, King John III sent da Gama to India as a Portuguese representative . Vasco da Gama died of an illness in India on December 24, 1524; his remains were returned to Portugal.

Christopher Columbus

May 9, 1502

This was his last expedition he sailed to Mexico, Honduras and Panama (in Central America) and Santiago (Jamaica). He died in 1506 and is buried in eastern Hispaniola which is now the the Dominican Republic.

Amerigo Vespucci

Jan 1, 1507

Amerigo Vespucci was born in 1454 and was an Italian explorer who was the first person to realize that the Americas were separate from the continent of Asia. America was named for him in 1507. He died in 1512.

Francisco Cordoba

Sep 11, 1517

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was born in 1510. He was a Spanish ruler, explorer and conquistador. He was the first European to explore North America's Southwest. He died in 1554.

Ferdinand Magellan

Jan 1, 1519

Ferdinand Magellan was born in 1480. He was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth. They set sail on September 8, 1519, and lasted until September 6, 1522. Magellan was killed towards the end of the voyage, on the Island of Mactan in the Philippines in 1521.

Hernan Cortes

Sep 11, 1519

Hernán Cortés was born in 1485. He was a Spanish adventurer and conquistador he was also a failed law student. Cortes sailed with 11 ships from Cuba, to the Yucatan Peninsula and found the Aztec Empire. He claimed the Aztec Empire for Spain in 1519- 1521. He died in 1547.

Hernando Soto

Sep 11, 1524

He was born in 1500 in Spain. He sailed the Atlantic and was the first European to explore Florida. He died in 1542.

Giovanni Verrazano

Sep 11, 1524

Verrazano was born in Italy in 1485. Verrazzano left Madeira, Spain, on January 17, 1524, and landed at Cape Fear on March 1. He died in 1528.

Estevanico

Sep 11, 1528

He was born in N. Africa in 1500. He explored the southern U.S. He died in 1539.

Francisco Pizarro

Jan 1, 1532

He was born in 1478 in Spain. He conquered the Inca Empire in 1541. He died in 1541 as well.

Jacques Cartier

Sep 11, 1534

He was born in 1491 in France. He led 3 voyages to Canada looking for a northern water route to Asia, he died in 1557.

Francis Drake

Sep 11, 1577

He was a British explorer born in 1545. He led the second expedition to sail around the world in a voyage lasting from 1577 to 1580. They left Plymouth, England, on December 13, 1577, with six ships. He died in 1596.

Sir Walter Raleigh

Sep 11, 1585

Sir Walter Raleigh was a British explorer, born in 1554. Raleigh led expeditions to both North America and South America, he was trying to found new settlements, find gold, and increase trade with the New World. In 1585, Raleigh sent colonists to the east coast of North America. He died in 1618.

Henry Hudson

Sep 11, 1607

Henry Hudson was born in 1565. was an English explorer and navigator who explored parts of the Arctic Ocean and northeastern North America. The Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay are named for Hudson. He died in 1611.

Robert La Salle

Sep 11, 1682

He was a french explorer born in 1643. He traveled south from Canada and sail down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first European to travel the length of the Mississippi River in 1682. He died in 1687.

James Cook

Sep 11, 1768

James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 and died on February 14, 1779. He was a british explorer. Cook's first journey was from 1768 to 1771, when he sailed to Tahiti in order to observe Venus as it passed between the Earth and the Sun in order to try to determine the distance between the Earth and the Sun.