Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus, in search of a shorter route to Asia, decided to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean. He thought this would be a shorter journey. By studying the writings of Marco Polo and Paolo Toscanelli, Columbus believed that Asia was much larger than it actually is. In addition, he underestimated the size of the Atlantic Ocean. He had no idea he would run into America on his way to Asia!

Although Columbus was actually Italian, he proposed his plan to sail across the Atlantic to both Portugal and Spain. Portugal worried that Columbus had miscalculated and decided not to fund his expedition. Columbus pitched his plan to Spanish rulers, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. They decided to fund his expedition and used this as an opportunity to spread Christianity to new areas and hopefully gain riches.

Columbus set sail in August 1492. After sailing for two months, they worried they wouldn’t survive and considered turning back. Luckily for Columbus, they saw land on October 12. Columbus believed he reached the Indies in Southeast Asia but in reality was in the Caribbean. The natives he encountered were called the Tainos but were given the name, “Indians” because of where Columbus believed he was. Columbus would go on to make three more voyages to the Americas.

Bartolomeu Dias

Prince Henry of Portugal opened a school of navigation and decided to organize and pay for sailing expeditions to explore the Atlantic and the west coast of expeditions. He hoped to find African gold, to learn more about geography and to spread Christianity. One of the explorers he funded was Bartolomeu Dias.

In January 1488, the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias reached the southern tip of Africa. After sailing around it, he returned to Portugal at the urging of his crew. Portugal’s king named the tip the Cape of Good Hope because he hoped they had found a route to Asia.

Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer. He followed the route of Bartolomeu Dias around the southern tip of Africa. Da Gama continued north along the eastern coast of Africa. Then he sailed east across the Indian Ocean to India. Finally, someone had found an all-water route to Asia. The route meant that the Portuguese could now trade with Asia without dealing with the Muslims or Italians. Portugal took control of the valuable spice trade and became very wealthy. This forced other nations to look for their own water routes to Asia.

Amerigo Vespucci

Amerigo Vespucci was one of the first explorers to set sail after Columbus. He was an Italian sailor who set out in 1501 to find a sea route to Asia. Vespucci realized that the land he saw on this voyage was not Asia. A German mapmaker was impressed by Vespucci’s account of the lands, so he named the continent “America” after him. Although Vespucci was Italian, he sailed for Spain.

Ferdinand Magellan

Perhaps no explorer was more capable than the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan. He proposed to reach Asia by sailing west around South America. The Spanish king agreed to fund Magellan’s voyage. In 1519, Magellan set out from Spain with five ships and about 240 men. After a stormy passage around South America, Magellan entered the Pacific Ocean. For several months his crew crossed the Pacific, suffering great hardships. Eventually, Magellan reached the Philippines, where he became involved in a local war and was killed. But his crew traveled on. In 1522, the one remaining ship arrived back in Spain. The sailors in Magellan’s crew became the first people the sail around the world.

Hernan Cortes

Soldiers called conquistadors, or conquerers, explored the Americans and claimed them for Spain. Hernan Cortes was one of these conqustadors. He landed on the Central American coast with 508 men in 1519. The Spanish arrival shook the Aztec Empire, which dominated most of Mexico. The Aztec emperor Montezuma feared that Cortes had been sent by an Aztec god to rule Mexico. Montezuma sent Cortes gifts to get him to leave, but the gifts only excited Spanish dreams of riches.

Cortes and his men, along with other natives that allied with them against the Aztec, took on Montezuma and his empire. After months of fighting, Cortes finally took over the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. It was on that site where Cortes built Mexico City.

Francisco Pizarro

Native American stories of Incan wealth reached the Spanish. In 1531, a conquistador named Francisco Pizarro led an expedition of 180 men into Peru. Like the Aztecs, the Incas feared that the Spanish might be gods. The Incan emperor Atahualpa ordered his troops not to fight. Then he went to meet the conquistadors. The Spanish attacked quickly. They killed thousands of Incas and took Atahualpa captive. In an attempt to free himself, the Incan emperor gave the Spanish a treasure of gold. The Spaniards strangled him anyway. With Atahualpa dead, the Incan Empire collapsed. Having been ordered by Atahualpa not to fight, the Incas refused to defend themselves even after his death. The Pizarro took control of this area for Spain. The Spanish called the area Peru.

John Cabot

One of the first explorers to chart a northern route across the Atlantic in search of Asia was the Italian sailor John Cabot. In 1497, Cabot crossed the Atlantic Ocean to explore for the English. He landed in the area of Newfoundland, Canada. He was certain that he had reached Asia and claimed the land for England. The next year he set sail once more, hoping to reach Japan. He was never seen again. Even so, his voyages were the basis for future English colonies along North America’s Atlantic shore.

Henry Hudson

In 1609, the Englishman Henry Hudson sailed under the Dutch flag from Europe. He hoped to find a route to China. Arriving at the coast of present-day New York, he sailed up the river that now bears his name. Hudson did not find a passage to Asia, but he led another expedition in 1610, this time for the English. In Canada, he discovered a large bay, today called Hudson Bay. After enduring a harsh winter, his crew rebelled. They put Hudson, his young son, and several loyal sailors in a small boat and set them adrift. Hudson’s party was never heard from again.

Giovanni da Verrazzano

In 1524, another Italian, Giovanni da Verrazzano, set out under the French flag to find the Northwest Passage (a water route through North America to Asia). He explored the Atlantic coastline of North America, but there was no passage to be found.

Jacques Cartier

France tried to find a Northwest Passage between 1534 and 1536 with the voyages of Jacques Cartier. Cartier traveled up the St. Lawrence River to the site of present-day Montreal. At that point rapids blocked the way and ended his search for the Northwest Passage. It would be almost 75 years before the French would return to colonize the region.

Sir Francis Drake

In 1577, Sir Francis Drake began a three-year voyage that took him around the world. During his voyage he raided Spanish ports and ships in South America. He stole great amounts of treasure from them. When he arrived home in 1580, he was a national hero. Not only had Drake and his men hounded the Spanish, buy they were also the first Englishmen to sail around the world.

Remember to record the following information:

-Which country the explorer sailed for (this might be different from where they were from!)

-What the explorer was looking for

-The area discovered or explored by each person

-Accomplishments or specific details about what they did in the area explored (example: sailed all the way around the world, conquered the Aztecs, etc.)