Download Explorers: The quick facts

Explorers: The quick facts
Adapted from: www.kidskonnect.com/history/explorers
The Golden Age of Exploration
➔ From 1400 AD until 1700 AD, there was a period of time
called "The Golden Age of Exploration".
➔ Many European explorers traveled to the New World on
their voyages of discovery.
What countries did the explorers come from?
Many countries were seeking trade routes to the New World:
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England
France
Spain
Holland
Portugal
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Italy
The early explorers were also going to claım lands for these countrıes and conquer
or convert any people living on these lands.
But wait!! Do not forget Leif Ericson (He was a Viking)
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Vikings were fierce travelers who:
◆ Build amazing boats
◆ Navigated 400 years before the Golden Age of Exploration!
◆ Braved the freezing waters of the North Atlantic Ocean
◆ Created beautiful art
◆ Used metal for weapons, armor, jewelry, and in their boats
Leif Ericson died 1020
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The first explorer to reach North American was Leif Ericson.
◆ He was a Norseman and sailed around 1,000 A.D.
The Norsemen were people who inhabited Scandinavia
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Vikings were fierce and brave
They traveled from:
◆ Norway, Sweden and Denmark
They traveled to Greenland, Iceland, and parts of North
America (Newfoundland)
Marco Polo (1254-1324) You should know this!!
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Marco Polo was an Italian explorer who traveled with his father and his uncle
to the Far East.
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They went to what is now China.
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A book called, The Travels of Marco Polo, was written while he was in
prison by Rustichello da Pisa.
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His explorations took place between 1271-1295.
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
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Probably the best known explorer in the United States is Christopher
Columbus.
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In 1492, Columbus set sail across the Atlantic Ocean in search of India.
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He didn’t find India, but is credited with finding the New World (West Indies).
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Columbus sailed for Spain.
Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512)
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Amerigo Vespucci is important because:
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he was one of the early explorers of the New World
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the continents of North and South America were named in his honor
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he was the first person to state that North and South America were NOT
part of Asia
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he estimated the circumference of the world within 50 miles!!
Vespucci knew Columbus and helped him get his ships ready Columbus’s second
and third voyages.
If you want to know more...
Vespucci believed Columbus was wrong in thinking that the world was a smaller
size. He was one of the first explorers to come up with the idea that these places he
had visited were not part of Asia, as Columbus had thought, but rather were part of
a “New World.” He went on at least two, and possibly four, voyages to Central and
South America between 1497 and 1504. He sailed for Spain and Portugal.
Martin Waldseemüller's 1507
map was the first to use the
word "America."
Waldseemüller had proposed
naming the newly discovered
continents after the Italian
explorer.
This map shows South America
Credit: Library of Congress
Sir Francis Drake
The most famous English explorer is probably Sir Francis Drake. Between 1577
and 1580, he made his voyage around the world, defeated the Spanish Armada, and
claimed what is now the state of California for England.
Vasco de Balboa (1475-1519)
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Vasco de Balboa from Spain led an expedition across Panama and found the
Pacific Ocean.
Sailed in 1513
Juan Ponce de Leon (1474-1521) Height: 4’11”
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Juan Ponce de Leon sailed for Spain
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Juan Ponce de Leon explored what is now the state of Florida and named it
after the Pascua Florıda (Festival of Flowers)
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He searched for the “Fountain of Youth”
Became the first governor of Puerto Rico
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appointed by Spain in 1509
Ferdinand Magellan
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In 1520-1521, Magellan proved through his explorations that the Earth is
round.
He established the first route to the East that involved sailing to the west.
◆ This passage went around the tip of South America.
◆ Magellan sailed for the Spanish king Charles I
Four more to check out...
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Four Spanish explorers also made history when they traveled to the Americas.
Between 1519 and 1521, Hernando Cortez conquered the Aztecs in Mexico.
Between 1523 and 1535, Francisco Pizarro conquered Peru in South America.
Between 1539 and 1541, Hernando De Soto explored what is today the
southwest United States and discovered the Mississippi River.
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Between 1540 and 1542, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado (1510-1554) also
spent time exploring the American southwest.