Explorers Flashcards
(25 cards)
In the first decade of 1500, he built settlements in Hispaniola. His efforts paid off and he was named governor of the eastern part of the country in 1504. He heard reports of gold at nearby Puerto Rico and in 1508, and the Spanish crown sent him to explore. He settled near modern day San Juan. He returned to Hispaniola a year later. His expeditions went so successfully that he was named governor of Puerto Rico. Encouraged by the profits brought in by him, the Spanish crown told him to continue settlement of the island and to step up gold mining efforts. King Ferdinand sent him to continue searching for new lands to find more gold and expand the Spanish empire. He went off to find an island rumored to have the fountain of youth. In a month he landed on the east coast of Florida, which he believed was an island. It was named Florida, meaning flowery.
Juan Ponce de Leon
Explored for Spain, explored from 1502-1526. In 1526, he established the San Miguel de Guadalupe colony. This was the first European attempt at a settlement that is part of the contiguous United States. He founded this colony, which is current-day Georgetown, South Carolina. The colony, however, would fail due to diseases and revolts from the slaves the Spanish brought into the colony from Africa.
Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon
He sailed for the British Admiralty from 1679 to 1691. He was the first person to circumnavigate the world three times, the first Englishman to reach and map parts of Australia and New Guinea.
William Dampier
English, 1578-1590, left with brother to find Northwest Passage and turned to privateering Spanish ships, favorite of Queen Elizabeth I so she chose him to establish a colony near Roanoke, but when a second voyage was sent there was no trace of the colony.
Sir Walter Raleigh
British officer of the Royal Navy who lived from 1757-1798. Sailing under the reign of King George III, his 1791-1795 expedition where he charted the Northwest coast of North America, the Hawaiian Islands, and the southwest coast of Australia is known as his greatest achievement.
George Vancouver
In the 1520s, he was sent from France to explore the east coast of North America to find a route to the Pacific. He landed at what would be Cape Fear in North Carolina and headed north in order to continue exploring. He eventually discovered the New York harbor. After returning to Europe he made two more voyages to the Americas. On his second voyage voyage to the Americas, he was “killed and eaten” by the natives of one of the Lower Antilles, probably on Guadeloupe.
Giovanni de Verrazano
A spanish explorer and Conquistador, he led an expedition from Mexico to the Southwest United States up through Kansas from 1540-1542 under King Charles’ I reign. He was in search for one of the Seven Cities of Gold but instead had the first sightings of the Grand Canyon, Colorado River, and other U.S landmarks.
Francisco Vasque de Coronado
He helped establish Darién, Panama. He was the governor of Darién and led an expedition to the Pacific Ocean in search of gold. During his expedition he was the first European to lay eyes on the Pacific Ocean, and claimed it for Spain. He was usurped as governor of Darién before news of his exploration reached King Ferdinand, and the new governor had him beheaded for treason at the age of 44.
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Sent on a voyage to India in 1503-1504 and went to the East again in 1506. In 1507, he captured the island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea. He took Hormuz, the principal spice-distributing center for the Persian Gulf, and proceeded to India.. In Goa again in 1512, he strengthened Portuguese administration there.
Alfonso d’Albuquerque
Explored for Portugal, active in late 1400s to early 1500s. He was the first European to reach India by a sea route. He rounded the southern tip of Africa into the Indian Ocean to reach India. It was significant because it opened the way for an age of global imperialism and for the Portuguese to make inroads to colonize in Asia. In India, he discovered spices and brought them back, which boosted the Portuguese economy.
Vasco da Gama
A Dutch explorer who serviced the Dutch East India Company. In 1642 he was instructed to explore the Indian Ocean from west to east and to proceed towards the Pacific Ocean. He sighted the coast of South Island and New Zealand, and explored them both north. In 1643 he discovered the Fiji Islands. He circumnavigated Australia without seeing it, and believed that is was separated from the hypothetical southern continent. This is why the island of Tasmania is named after him. In 1644 he received instruction to establish the relationship of New Guinea.
Abel Tasman
An English explorer and navigator who led explorations into the Arctic ocean and parts of Northeastern North America. His main objective was to find a shorter route to Asia through the Arctic Ocean. He made two attempts to find the Northeast passage but was unsuccessful both times. The Hudson Bay and the Hudson strait were both named after him.
Henry Hudson
In 1769, after serving in the Seven Years War, he took command of the first scientific expedition to the Pacific. In 1770 on his ship the HMB Endeavor, he found and charted New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia which is now credited as one of the most dangerous areas of the world to navigate. After he returned to England, he was chosen to circumnavigate and explore Antarctica. On his voyage he charted Easter Island, New Caledonia, the South Sandwich Islands, and South Georgia. He fought off scurvy by feeding his crew watercress, sauerkraut, and orange extract. In 1779, he died in battle with islanders during a winter layover in Hawaii.
James Cook
Sailed for Queen Elizabeth I from 1577 to 1581. She had sent him out against the Spanish along the Pacific coast of South America while also assigning him the task of exploring the Northwestern coast of North America, seeking a Northwest passage. He led the fleet into the Strait of Magellan to reach the Pacific Ocean. After getting caught up in a storm, Drake set sail across the Pacific, through the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope back to England, landing at Plymouth. Thus, he became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world.
Francis Drake
A Venetian explorer and navigator known for his voyage to North America in 1497. There, he was the first to claim land in Canada for King Henry VII of England. This set the course for England to rise as a world power at this time. He believed that a route to the west was a quicker way to Asia. The exact location of his landing is unknown but some historians believe that he landed at Cape Breton Island. His fate after his journey remains a mystery.
John Cabot
Born in Germany in 1580, and later joined the Dutch West Indian Company where he was named the director of the New Netherland colony. He is famous for negotiating a deal with Native Americans to buy the island of Manhattan and developing fur trade in the region. Afterwards he also founded a Swedish colony in Delaware.
Peter Minuit
On May 17, 1673, set out on a four-month voyage that carried them thousands of miles through North America to explore the path of the Mississippi River. Their voyage helped to initiate the first non Native-American settlement settlements in the North American and introduced Christianity. Marquette was a priest, Joliet was a fur trader.
Marquette and Joliet
Explored for France, active from 1604-1607, He founded Quebec City and New France in 1605. Called “Father of New France.” He made first accurate map of the Maritime Canadian coast and helped establish settlements in the area. Before Quebec, he was part of the group that founded Port Royal, Nova Scotia, the second permanent European settlement in the Americas. His discovery is why today people of Quebec speak French.
Samuel de Champlain
French explorer who was sent by King Francis I to the New World in search of riches in 1534. He explored the St. Lawrence river and claimed lands in the name of French in what is now Canada. His first voyage was to the eastern coast of North America, then called the “Northern Lands.” He returned to France and the following year was sent back and explored present day Montreal and. He encountered the Iroquois but his men angered them. He is credited with exploration of the St. Lawrence region, but his reputation is tarnished due to his dealings with the Iroquois and his abandonment of incoming colonists as he left the New World.
Jacques Cartier
Spanish soldier and conquistador who helped conquer Cuba in 1511 and leading a exposition into North America. He was then given Florida and led an expedition of 300 men, who through battles with Natives and hurricanes left many of his men dead.
Panfilo De Narvaez
Sailed for Spain, 1513-1541, joined Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his journey across the Isthmus of Panama, discovered the Pacific Ocean, went to the San Juan River, overthrew Inca leader and conquered Peru (founded capital of Lima)
Francisco Pizarro
In 1488, he became the first European mariner to round the southern tip of Africa, opening the way for a sea route from Europe to Asia. He reigned from Portugal from 1450 – 1500. His ships went around the Cape of Good Hope and then sailed past Africa’s most southern point, Cabo das Agulhas, before entering the waters of the Indian Ocean. European nations already had trade ties with Asia but the overland route has been closed in the 1450s due to the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of the Byzantine Empire. His venture around Africa increased trade with India and other Asian territories. It is also what prompted Christopher Columbus to establish his own sea route to the far east.
Bartholomew Dias
He proposed a way to sail from the Iberian Peninsula to Asia by a western route. He believed that the Eurasian landmass covered 270 degrees of longitude and that the earth was a small sphere with a circumference of 17,000 nautical miles. To set sail, Columbus needed sponsors. He first went to Portuguese royals and asked to be sponsored but they turned him down. However, the king and queen of Spain agreed to sponsor him. He reached the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. He gathered goods like pineapples, turkeys, tobacco, and hammocks that Europeans have never seen before and returned to Spain. Once back he told everyone that he had reached islands right off the coast of Asia, but he was wrong.
Christopher Columbus
Portuguese sailor and naval officer who lived from 1480 - 1521. He sailed for King Charles I of Spain. He is known for leading the Spanish trip to the East Indies from 1519 - 1522. This trip is historically important because it was the first circumnavigation of the world. He never finished the trip, dying in the Philippines.
Ferdinand Magellan
