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Jan 1, 1394
Prince Henry the Navigator
He was a prince, soldier, and the funder of explorers. He sent many sailing expeditions down to Africa's west coast. They were to create much needed maps of the West African coast, to defeat the Muslims. more info -
Jan 1, 1451
Christopher Columbus
He was an Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He was hoping to find a route to India. He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492-1504. more info -
Jan 1, 1454
Amerigo Vespucci
He 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. On Vespucci's frist trip he discovered the mouth of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in South America, he thought that it was part of Asia. On his second trip he mapped some of the eastern coast of South America,& came to realize that it not part of Asia, but a New World.
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Jan 1, 1457
Bartolomeu Dias
He was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who explored Africa's coast. He led the first European expedition to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. One of the first explorers to see Brazil. He died furing this expedition and he was lost at sea near the Cape of Good Hope. more info -
Jan 1, 1460
Vasco de Gama
He discovered an ocean route from Portugal to the East. He sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, to India and back. Many people thought this was impossible to do because they assumed that the Indian Ocean was not connected to any other oceans. href='http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/d/dagama.shtml' >more info</a> -
Jan 1, 1460
Ponce de Leon
He was a Spanish explorer and soldier who was the first European to set foot in Florida. He also established the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered the Gulf Stream. He was searching for the legendary fountain of youth and other riches. more info -
Jan 1, 1475
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
First European explorer to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. He sailed from Spain to Colombia searching for treasures along the norther coast of South America in the GUlf of Uraba. He then tired to farm there, unsuccessfully. more info -
Jan 1, 1478
Fransisco Pizzaro
He was a Spanish conquistador who traveled through a lot of the Pacific coast of America along Peru. He "discovered" the Incan empire and conquered it brutally and quickly, stealing a ton of gold, silver, and other treasures. He would fight in many wars. His common goal was to get riches. more info -
Jan 1, 1480
Ferdinand Magellan
He was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth. He also named the Pacific Ocean. Magellan sailed to India and to the Far East many times. He sailed for his native Portugal, but a argument with the Portuguese King Manoel II turned him against the Portuguese. So he then sailed for Spain. more info -
Jan 1, 1485
Hernan Cortes
He was a Spanish adventurer and conquistador who overthrew the Aztec empire and claimed Mexico for Spain. He eventually brutally killed the Aztec emperor. He sailed with 11 ships from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula to look for gold, silver, and other treasures. more info
