early explorers

Lief Erickson sailed for Norway

1000

Lief Erickson was a viking who came to america looking for food. He stumbled upon america on accident. He was the first non-native to reach north america.

Prince Henry the Navigator sailed for portugal

1419

Prince Henry wanted to create a school tor sailing and exploration. He had this idea in the winter, so he could not act upon it at that time. He opened it up in the spring of 1419.

Bartolomeu Dias sailed for Portugal

1487

Bartolomeu Dias was the first person to discover the cape of good hope. The cape of good hope was a path around the southern tip of Africa. This was also his final resting place.

Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain

Aug 3, 1492

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who sailed for Spain after the Italian monarchy rejected him. He "discovered" the Americas in 1492. He also wiped out most of the natives with smallpox.

John Cabot Sailed for England

Jun 24, 1497

Cabot was a explorer for England, and he claimed part of Canada for England. When he did this, he thought that it was Asia. This set the course for England's rise to power.

Vasco Da Gama sailed for Portugal

Jul 1, 1497

The nobleman Vasco Da Gama wanted to open a sea route from Europe to the east. He sailed all the way from Lisbon to try to go to India. He died in his home town of Lisbon.

Amerigo Vespucci sailed for Spain

May 10, 1501

Amerigo Vespucci Is the man after which the Americas are named for. Even though it was thought that he did, he did not discover the Americas. He was an Italian navigator that claimed to have discovered America.

Juan Ponce de Leon sailed for

Apr 3, 1513

Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He led the first European expedition into what is now Florida. He also served as the first governor of Puerto Rico.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa sailed for Spain

Sep 25, 1513

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was a conquistador/explorer. He is known as the first European to reach the pacific from America.

Hernan Cortes

Aug 13, 1519

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who started his conquering career in cuba in 1511 where he was a soldier. Later, he led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire. This also brought in a lot of land for spain.

Ferdinand Magellan for Portugal and Spain

Aug 20, 1519

Magellan was a portuguese explorer who sailed on behalf of Spain. He organized an expedition to the east indies from 1519 to 1522. He himself did not circumnavigate the globe, but one of his crew-mates, Juan Sebastián Elcano did.

Alavr Nunez Cabeza de Vaca sailed for Spain

Apr 15, 1528

Alavr Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer of the new world. He went on an expedition in 1527. He was one of four survivors.

Francisco Pizarro sailed for the Spanish Empire

Nov 15, 1532

Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador. He is best known for his conquer of Peru for Spain. This led to spanish culture dominating South America.

Jacques Cartier sailed for France

Apr 1, 1534

Jacques Cartier was the first European to navigate the St. Lawrence river. This took him three different trips. This set up claims for the french later on.

Hernando de Soto sailed for Spain

May 30, 1539

Hernando de Soto wanted to be rich, so he went to go conquer Florida for Spain. Hernando and his men traveled nearly 4000 miles, fighting natives along the way.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado sailed for Spain

Jun 29, 1541

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was a spanish conquistador. He led a large expedition from Mexico to present day Kansas. He went through the southwestern United States.

Juan Cabrillo sailed for Spain

Oct 28, 1542

Juan Cabrillo was a soldier and explorer for Spain. He is mostly known for his exploration of California for Spain. He is believed to be of Portuguese descent.

Samuel de Champlain sailed for France.

1602

Samuel de Champlain explored the Atlantic coastline in the name of France. He also explored the interior of Canada.