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Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was from Italy. He wanted to prove that you definitely could sail to Asia by going west to through the Ocean Sea. He asked Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to fund his expedition. They said no the first time but the secound time he asked they said yes. He didn't end up exploring parts of Asia, he actually ended up in a island in the Bahamas. He named the island San Salavdor. -
Period: Aug 3, 1492 to
Timespan
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May 1, 1497
John Cabot
Giovanni Caboto or more commonly known as John Cabot was from Italy. King Henry VII of England sponsored Cabot’s expedition. He sailed west over the Atlantic ocean. Cabot reached land on June 24th 1497. Cabot thought the land he explored was Asia but a lot of people today say that he had reached Newfoundland and Labrador. -
Jan 1, 1513
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Vasco Nunez de Balboa was from Spain. He was one of the first Europeans settle in the Americas. He had a farm but wasn’t a very good farmer and as a result owed a lot of people money. So then he escaped by hiding on a ship going to what is now Columbia. He arrived and met some survivors from a failed Spanish settlement. Then he helped the survivors take land from the Native Americans to make a new settlement. Then in 1513 went with other explorer across Panama. -
Jan 1, 1513
Juan Ponce de Leon
Juan Ponce de Leon was from Spain. He helped conquer Puerto Rico. When he was in Puerto Rico Ponce de Leon heard about an island north called Bimini. He heard that the island had a Fountain of Youth. In 1513 he set out to find the island. He actually landed in what’s now Florida. He claimed it for Spain. In 1521 he returned to start a settlement. The tribe called the Calusa tribe, they defend the the land and Ponce de Leon was wounded and died. He never found The Fountian of Youth. -
Jan 1, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was from Portugal. He wanted to find a western route to Asia. In 1519 Magellan with five ships and roughly 250 sailors. They sailed passed America. Magellan named the ocean Pacific because he thought is was peaceful. He thought he could sail the Pacific in just a few days. In reality it took more than three months. Many of the sailors died of hunger, illness and other things. One of the ships made it back to Spain in 1522.
Magellan actually was killed in a battle. -
Aug 13, 1521
Hernando Cortes
Hernando Cortes was from Spain. Spain sent him to find gold in the Aztec region. He landed in what is now present day Mexico with 650 soldiers. He conquered the Aztecs and found gold. On what's left of the Aztecs home the Spanish built Mexico city. Which is now the capital of new Spain’s empire in the Americas. -
Mar 1, 1524
Giovanni da Verrazzano
Giovanni da Verrazzano was from Italy. The King Francis wanted Verrazzano to find the Northwest passage through North America. Verrazzano first in North Carolina in 1524.
He sailed through many bay looking for a route to Asia. He didn’t find the passage but he did meet many Native Americans along the journey. -
Jun 9, 1534
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was from France. King Francis sent him to look for the Northwest Passage and gold. In the timespan of 1534 and 1541 Cartier made three voyages. On the first voyage he arrived at the St. Lawrence river, he claimed all the land around the river for France. At the end of the three voyages he didn’t find any gold, but thanks to him the Europeans knew more about North America. -
Jan 1, 1540
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was from Spain. Coronado in 1540 set out to find the golden cities. He went with roughly 300 soldiers and many African slaves. He also took more than 1,000 enslaved Native Americans to find gold. Coronado explored parts of what is today the southwestern United States. Coronado didn’t find any gold on his expedition, but he did claim land for Spain.They include what is today Mexico, the southwestern part of the United States and Florida had became known as New Spain. -
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was from England. He went on four voyages to find the Northwest Passage,
but he didn’t find it. Even though he didn’t find the Northwest Passage, on his last voyage that an English company sponsored he found the Hudson bay. He claimed the land surrounding it for England. The area he explored was up near east-central Canada.
