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EXPLORER
BIOGRAPHIES
TREATY OF TORDESILLAS
Signed in Spain on June 7, 1494
Divided the newly discovered lands
outside Europe between Crown of
Portugal and Crown of Spain (Castile)
JOHN CABOT
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Born in Genoa, Italy in 1455
Was a merchant and a sailor
Thought exploration was adventurous and exciting
Believed he could find a northeast passage to Asia
English king sponsored him
 Neither Spain nor Portugal was interested in sponsoring Cabot
 Made two voyages in 1497 and 1498
 Claimed Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for England
 Newfoundland’s coast had profitable fishing grounds
 Also known as Grand Banks
 Lost most records of voyages and little information
known about encounters with Native Americans
 Died in 1499 in England
HERNANDO DE SOTO
 Born in Spain in 1500
 Loved adventure and heard stories of cities with gold and silver in North
America
 Became greedy wanting to find the Seven Cities of Cibola
 1531: traveled with Pizarro
 Helped conquer the Inca Empire
 1533: king Spain sent him to Cuba as governor
 Gave him rights to explore and conquer land in southeastern parts of North
America
 1539: landed in Florida with lots of men and horses
 Crossed Appalachian Mountains reaching the Mississippi River
 Headed further west into the Ozark Mountains returning back to the Mississippi
River without gold and silver
 Searched for four more years for riches – found nothing
 First European led exploration of Mississippi River
 Killed and burned Native American villages
 Brought disease to the Native Americans as well
 1542 died of fever without finding cities of gold
FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE
CORONADO
 Born in Spain in 1510
 Left home at an early age
 Heard of the riches in the Seven Cities of Cibola in the New World and wanted to
explore
 1535: sailed to Mexico to become one of the Spanish governors
 Known as a conquistador
 1540-1542: led an expedition to find the fabled cities
 FIRST European to travel up the Rio Grande
 Led expeditions into Texas and Kansas
 Discovered the Grand Canyon
 His expeditions gave us geographic information about the New World
 Did not create Spanish settlements
 Mistreated Pueblo Native Americans
 Never found any gold or silver
 Died in 1554
SIR FRANCES DRAKE
 Born in England in 1540
 Surrounded by ships and sailors
 Lived in the old hull of a ship
 Apprenticed on a small ship
 1570s: began voyages to the New World
 Would attack Spanish settlements and destroy ships
 1572: crossed Isthmus of Panama
 Saw the Pacific Ocean
 1577: Queen Elizabeth of England secretly gives him money to continue voyages
 Expeditions around South America, capturing Spanish ships
 Circumnavigated the world to avoid Spanish revenge, first Englishman to
circumnavigate
 Queen knighted him
 Known as a pirate to the Spanish “El Drake”
 Known as the greatest navigator and privateer and “Mistress of the Seas” to the
English
 Did not want to convert the natives
 1596: died aboard ship, final voyage against Spanish
HENRY HUDSON
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Born in England in 1565
Possible grandson of an Englishman who founded Muscovy Company
1607: made two voyages landing in Greenland and Svalbard Islands
1609: hired by Dutch East India Company to find Northeast Passage
1610: wealthy Englishmen sponsored expedition to find Northeast Passage
to Asia
Discovered: Hudson Strait, Hudson Bay and Hudson River
Explored Arctic Ocean and northeastern North America
Sailed for England and Holland
Saw icebergs, whales, dolphins and walruses
Had some encounters with Inuit (Eskimo)
Encountered Natives in Manhattan
 Some were hostile, Drake killed them
 1611: he died, his crew mutinied him and set him on a small boat
FERDINAND MAGELLAN
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Born in 1480 in Portugal
Was interested in finding western water route to Spice Islands
1518: sponsored by Spanish king
1519: sailed with five ships and almost 300 men
 Lost 2 ships to weather and desertion
 Voyage was horrible
 Ended up with ONE ship and 18 men
 1520: landed in Philippine Islands
 Made friends with Philippine native chief
 Waters around the tip of South America “Straits of Magellan”
 Convinced the Spanish king Spice Islands would be in “Spanish” half of the
world
 Treaty of Tordesillas
 1521: died from an enemy of Philippine chief
 Magellan’s crew was the first to circumnavigate the world
JUAN PONCE DE LEON
 Born in 1460 in Spain
 Loved adventure and excitement
 Fought with the Spanish against the Muslims
 Taught himself to be a soldier
 Heard of gold in the New World
 Joined Columbus on his second voyage
 1511: conquered island of Puerto Rico for Spain
 Becoming governor
 Removed as governor because he treats natives poorly
 1513: searched for the “Fountain of Youth”
 Heard stories from natives, water giving eternal life
 Claims Florida for Spain
 Names it “Pascua de Florida” feast of flowers
 1514: returns to Spain to be Captain General
 1521: visits Florida again, wounded in battle
 Dies in Cuba of battle wounds, buried in Puerto Rico
VASCO DE BALBOA
 Born in 1475 in Spain
 Heard stories of sailors and adventures
 Worked for a merchant family in a seaport town, very poor
 1501: joined Spanish exploration to South America, went to the island
of Hispaniola
 Failed and became a pig farmer
 1510: started the city of Darien in northwest part of South America
 First European to see the Pacific Ocean
 Named ocean “Mar del Sur” Spanish for South Sea
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Found gold and pearls
Began Spanish settlements in South America
Fought and killed natives
1518: accused of being a traitor
1519: beheaded with four friends
HERNANDO CORTES
 Born in 1485 in Spain
 Wanted to become a famous explorer
 1511: sailed with another Spanish explorer to Cuba
 Became a rich judge because he had an education
 1518: sent to Mexico with Spaniards to seek riches and
conquer Aztecs
 Conquistador
 Brutally conquered natives and their emperor
 Burned Native Americans alive to show Montezuma his power
 Trick and killed Montezuma
 1521-1523: established Spanish claims in Mexico
 Acquired much gold and silver for Spain and himself
 1547: died in Spain
AMERIGO VESPUCCI
 Born in 1451 in Italy
 Loved studying stars, copying maps, geography
 Spain sponsored him in 1499 and 1503
 Explored northern and southeastern coast of America, saw Falkland
Islands
 Portugal sponsored him in 1501
 Explored tip of Brazil into Argentina
 Figured out Earth’s size within 50 miles
 New continents name after him
 Because of a German mapmakers reproductions of Vespucci’s
findings
 1508: died of malaria
GIOVANNI DA VERRAZANO
 Born in 1485 in Italy
 Wealthy family – got a good education
Became a sailor and navigator
 Sponsored by French king through wealthy
merchants and bankers
1524: left Spain and sailed along N.Carolina to
Newfoundland
1528: sailed again across Atlantic to island of
Guadeloupe
 Traded with friendly and unfriendly natives
1528: encountered cannibals (Caribs) in Guadeloupe
and they killed him
JACQUES CARTIER
 Born in 1491 in France
 Not much known about his early life
 Encouraged by Verrazano
 Ordered by king of France
 Find: gold, riches and Northwest Passage to China
 1534-1541 sailed to St. Lawrence River area 3x (giving detailed
information of St. Lawrence, first European to map and attempt to
establish a permenant settlement in St. Lawrence)
 Traveled to Newfoundland, Labrador, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec,
Montreal
 Second voyage: focused more on Quebec
 Third voyage: unsuccessfully tried to establish permanent settlement
 Traded with Micmac natives
 Met Iroquois friendly at first but Cartier kidnapped his sons
to prove to the French the stories of gold
 1557: died thinking St. Lawrence River led to China
FRANCISCO PIZARRO
 Born in 1470 in Spain
 Father was a soldier
 Found adventure and the New world exciting
 1509: joined Spanish explorers to Central America
 1513: joined Balboa’s expedition across Isthmus of Panama to Pacific Ocean
 Heard stories of the Inca Empire in Peru
 1514-1526: led Spanish expeditions into Central America
 Looking for Incas – failed!
 1528: returned to Spain to get more support from the king
 1530: returned to Panama and set out with De Soto
 1532: reached Canzmarca where the Inca leader lived
 Captured leader (Atahualpa) kept him captive, received thousand pounds of gold and
silver as ransom then killed Atahualpa and his men
 Founded city of Lima, Peru
 Called it Ciudad de los Reyes – Spanish for City of Kings
 Very greedy and ruthless conquistador
 Discovered and conquered Incas which helped make Spain the most rich and
powerful nation at this time
 1541: killed by fellow Spanish explorer because of greed
SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!
 HENRY HUDSON
 JOHN CABOT
 FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE
CORONADO
 AMERIGO VESPUCCI
 HERNANDO DE SOTO
 JUAN PONCE DE LEON
 JACQUES CARTIER
 HERNANDO CORTES
 FRANCISCO PIZARRO
 VASCO DE BALBOA
 GIOVANNI DA VERRAZANO
 FERDINAND MAGELLAN
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
 1501
 1519
 1497
 1513
 1519
 1531
 1524
 1539
 1534
 1540
 1577
 1607
SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!
 HENRY HUDSON
 JOHN CABOT
 FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE
CORONADO
 AMERIGO VESPUCCI
 HERNANDO DE SOTO
 JUAN PONCE DE LEON
 JACQUES CARTIER
 HERNANDO CORTES
 FRANCISCO PIZARRO
 VASCO DE BALBOA
 GIOVANNI DA VERRAZANO
 FERDINAND MAGELLAN
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
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