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Vasco Nunez de Balboa: Spanish Conquistador and Explorer
Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1475-1519) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who was the first
European to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean (in 1513), crossing the Isthmus of Panama.
In 1500, Balboa sailed with Rodrigo de Bastidas from Spain to Colombia, South America. They searched
for treasures (pearls and gold) along the northern coast of South America and in the Gulf of Uraba (near
San Sebastian). They were forced to abandon their leaky ship in Hispaniola. The penniless Balboa tried,
unsuccessfully, to farm for a living.
In 1510, Balboa and his dog Leoncico stowed away on a boat going from Santo Domingo to San Sebastian.
When they arrived at San Sebastian, they discovered that it had been burned to the ground. Balboa
convinced the others to travel southwest with him to a spot he had seen on his earlier expedition. In
1511, Balboa founded a colony, the first European settlement in South America - the town of Santa Maria
de la Antigua del Darien.
Balboa married the daughter of Careta, the local Indian chief. Soon after, in 1513, he sailed with hundreds
of Spaniards and Indians across the Gulf of Uraba to the Darien Peninsula.
Balboa headed an overland expedition west through very dense rainforests. Along the way they fought
many local Indians and destroyed one Indian village, killing hundreds of Indians. Balboa (accompanied by
his dog) was the first European to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean (in September 1513, from a
peak in Darién, Panama). Balboa and his men (including Francisco Pizarro) then traveled to the ocean
and claimed it and all the land that touched it for Spain. They spent about a month conquering Natives
along the Pacific coast and stealing their gold.
Balboa was charged with treason against Spain (although he was innocent and had been framed by a
friend, Arias de Avila). Francisco Pizarro arrested Balboa. Balboa was found guilty and was publicly
beheaded in Acla in January, 1519.
Ferdinand Magellan
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: Ferdinand Magellan
 OCCUPATION: Explorer
 BIRTH DATE: c. 1480
 DEATH DATE: April 27, 1521
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Sabrosa or Porto,
Portugal
 PLACE OF DEATH: Mactan, Philippines
 AKA: Fernando de Magallanes
 AKA: Hernando de Magallanes
 FULL NAME: Ferdinand Magellan
 AKA: Fernão de Magalhães
BEST KNOWN FOR
While in the service of Spain, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan led the first European voyage
of discovery to circumnavigate the globe.
SYNOPSIS
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal circa 1480. As a boy, he studied mapmaking and navigation. By
his mid-20s, he was sailing in large fleets and was committed in combat. In 1519, with the support of King
Charles V of Spain, Magellan set out to circumnavigate the globe. He assembled a fleet of ships and,
despite huge setbacks, his own death included, proved that the world was round.
EARLY LIFE
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal, either in the city of Porto or in Sabrosa, circa 1480. His parents
were members of the Portuguese nobility, so after their deaths, when he was just 10 years old, Magellan
became a page for the queen. Magellan studied at Queen Leonora's School of Pages in Lisbon and spent
his days poring over texts on cartography, astronomy, and celestial navigation—subjects that would
serve him well in his later pursuits.
NAVIGATOR AND EXPLORER
In his mid-20s, Magellan joined a Portuguese fleet that was sailing to East Africa. He soon found himself at
the Battle of Diu, in which the Portuguese destroyed Egyptian ships in the Arabian Sea. He also explored
Malacca, located in present-day Malaysia, and participated in the conquest of Malacca's port. It is possible
that he sailed as far as the Moluccas, islands in Indonesia, then called the Spice Islands. The Moluccas
were the original source of some of the world's most valuable spices, including cloves and nutmeg. The
conquest of spice-rich countries was, as a result, a source of much European competition.
While serving in Morocco, Magellan was wounded, and walked the remainder of his life with a limp. After
his injury, he was falsely accused of trading illegally with the Moors, and despite all of his service to
Portugal, and his many pleas to the king, any further offers of employment were withheld him.
In 1517, Magellan moved to Seville, Spain, to offer his skills to the Spanish court. In the three years
following his departure from Portugal, he had religiously studied all of the most recent navigation charts.
He had also benefited from the mistakes and discoveries of several other explorers—Christopher
Columbus's "discovery" of North America and Vasco Núñez de Balboa's march across the Panamanian
isthmus to the Pacific Ocean were just two of the many events that inspired Magellan's bold quest for an
all-water passage to farther-flung, spice-rich lands.
FINAL YEARS
Magellan devised a plan for circumnavigating the globe, and King Charles V of Spain gave it his blessing.
On September 20, 1519, he set out with a fleet of five ships, beautifully named but hardly adequate to sail
the distances he proposed. The fleet sailed first to Brazil and then down the coast of South America to
Patagonia. There, an attempted mutiny took place, and one of the ships was wrecked. Despite the setback,
the crew continued on with the four remaining vessels.
By October 1520, Magellan and his men had entered what is now called the Strait of Magellan. It took
them over a month to pass through the strait, during which time the master of one of the ships deserted
and sailed back home.
In March 1521, the fleet anchored in Guam.
It is a lesser-known fact that Magellan became involved in a local war in the Philippines, where he was
killed in battle on April 27, 1521. It's also largely unknown that it was the remaining members of his
crew, namely Juan Sebastián del Cano, who actually completed the circumnavigation of the globe. The
following year, on September 8, 1522, despite having almost lost their lives in their efforts, the remainder
of Magellan's fleet returned to Spain, thus proving that the globe was in fact round.
Amerigo Vespucci
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: Amerigo Vespucci
 OCCUPATION: Explorer
 BIRTH DATE: c. 1454
 DEATH DATE: c. 1512
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Florence, Italy
 PLACE OF DEATH: Seville, Spain
 FULL NAME: Amerigo Vespucci
 NICKNAME: "Pickle Dealer"
 AKA: America’s namesake
BEST KNOWN FOR
America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator and explorer who played a prominent
role in exploring the New World.
EARLY LIFE
Navigator and explorer Amerigo Vespucci, the third son in a cultured family, was born on March 9, 1451,
in Florence, Italy. Although born in Italy, Vespucci became a naturalized citizen of Spain in 1505.
Vespucci and his parents, Ser Nastagio and Lisabetta Mini, were friends of the wealthy and tempestuous
Medici family, who ruled Italy from the 1400s to 1737. Vespucci's father worked as a notary in Florence.
While his older brothers headed off to the University of Pisa in Tuscany, Vespucci received his early
education from his paternal uncle, a Dominican friar named Giorgio Antonio Vespucci.
When Amerigo Vespucci was in his early 20s, another uncle, Guido Antonio Vespucci, gave him one of the
first of his many jobs. Guido Antonio Vespucci, who was ambassador of Florence under King Louis XI of
France, sent his nephew on a brief diplomatic mission to Paris. The trip likely awakened Vespucci's
fascination with travel and exploration.
BEFORE EXPLORATION
In the years before Vespucci embarked on his first voyage of exploration, he held a string of other jobs.
When Vespucci was 24 years old, his father pressured him to go into business. Vespucci obliged. At first
he undertook a variety of business endeavors in Florence. Later, he moved on to a banking business in
Seville, Spain, where he formed a partnership with another man from Florence, named Gianetto Berardi.
According to some accounts, from 1483 to 1492, Vespucci worked for the Medici family. During that time
he is said to have learned that explorers were looking for a northwest passage though the Indies.
In the late 1490s, Vespucci became affiliated with merchants who supplied Christopher Columbus on his
later voyages. In 1496, after Columbus returned from his voyage to America, Vespucci had the
opportunity to meet him in Seville. The conversation piqued Vespucci's interest in seeing the world with
his own eyes. By the late 1490s, Vespucci's business was struggling to make a profit anyway. Vespucci
knew that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain were willing to fund subsequent voyages by other
explorers. Then in his 40s, Vespucci, enticed by the prospect of fame, decided to leave his business behind
and become an explorer before it was too late.
VOYAGES
According to a letter that Vespucci might or might not have truly written, on May 10, 1497, he embarked
on his first journey, departing from Cadiz with a fleet of Spanish ships. The controversial letter indicates
that the ships sailed through the West Indies and made their way to the mainland of Central America
within approximately five weeks.
If the letter is authentic, this would mean that Vespucci discovered Venezuela a year before Christopher
Columbus did. Vespucci and his fleets arrived back in Cadiz in October 1498.
In May of 1499, sailing under the Spanish flag, Vespucci embarked on his next expedition, as a navigator
under the command of Alonzo de Ojeda. Crossing the equator, they traveled to the coast of what is now
Guyana, where it is believed that Vespucci left Ojeda and went on to explore the coast of Brazil. During
this journey Vespucci is said to have discovered the Amazon River and Cape St. Augustine.
On May 14, 1501, Vespucci departed on another trans-Atlantic journey. Now on his third voyage,
Vespucci set sail for Cape Verde—this time in service to King Manuel I of Portugal. Vespucci's third
voyage is largely considered his most successful. While Vespucci did not start out commanding the
expedition, when Portuguese officers asked him to take charge of the voyage he agreed. Vespucci's ships
sailed along the coast of South America from Cape São Roque to Patagonia. Along the way, they
discovered present-day Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata. Vespucci and his fleets headed back via Sierra
Leone and the Azores. Believing he had discovered a new continent, in a letter to Florence, Vespucci
called South America the New World. His claim was largely based on Christopher Columbus' earlier
conclusion: In 1498, when passing the mouth of the Orinoco River, Columbus had determined that such a
big outpouring of fresh water must come from land "of continental proportions." Vespucci decided to
start recording his accomplishments, writing that accounts of his voyages would allow him to leave
"some fame behind me after I die."
On June 10, 1503, sailing again under the Portuguese flag, Vespucci, accompanied by Gonzal Coelho,
headed back to Brazil. When the expedition didn't make any new discoveries, the fleet disbanded. To
Vespucci's chagrin, the commander of the Portuguese ship was suddenly nowhere to be found. Despite
the circumstances, Vespucci forged ahead, managing to discover Bahia and the island of South Georgia in
the process. Soon after, he was forced to prematurely abort the voyage and return to Lisbon, Portugal, in
1504.
There is some speculation as to whether Vespucci made additional voyages. Based on Vespucci's
accounts, some historians believe that he embarked on a fifth and sixth voyage with Juan de la Cosa, in
1505 and 1507, respectively. Other accounts indicate that Vespucci's fourth journey was his last.
AMERICA'S NAMESAKE
In 1507, some scholars at Saint-Dié-des-Vosges in northern France were working on a geography book
called Cosmographiæ Introductio, which contained large cut-out maps that the reader could use to create
his or her own globes. German cartographer Martin Waldseemüler, one of the book's authors, proposed
that the newly discovered Brazilian portion of the New World be labeled America, the feminine version of
the name Amerigo, after Amerigo Vespucci. The gesture was his means of honoring the person who
discovered it, and indeed granted Vespucci the legacy of being America's namesake.
Decades later, in 1538, the mapmaker Mercator, working off the maps created at St-Dié, chose to mark
the name America on both the northern and the southern parts of the continent, instead of just the
southern portion. While the definition of America expanded to include more territory, Vespucci seemed
to gain credit for areas that most would agree were actually first discovered by Christopher Columbus.
FINAL YEARS
In 1505, Vespucci, who was born and raised in Italy, became a naturalized citizen of Spain. Three years
later, he was awarded the office of piloto mayor, or master navigator, of Spain. In this role, Vespucci's job
was to recruit and train other navigators, as well as to gather data on continued New World exploration.
Vespucci held the position for the remainder of his life.
On February 22, 1512, Amerigo Vespucci died of malaria in Seville, Spain. He was just a month shy of 58
years old.
Juan Ponce de León
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: Juan Ponce de León
 OCCUPATION: Explorer
 BIRTH DATE: 1460
 DEATH DATE: 1521
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Tierra de Campos
Palencia, Spain
 PLACE OF DEATH: Havana, Cuba
BEST KNOWN FOR
While searching for the mythical fountain of youth, Juan Ponce de León founded the oldest settlement in
Puerto Rico and discovered Florida.
EARLY YEARS
Born into a noble family, Juan Ponce de León became a soldier, fighting in a notable campaign against the
Moors in Granada. By various accounts, he began his exploration career as part of Christopher Columbus'
second expedition to the New World (1493), after the war with the Moors ended.
HISPANIOLA AND PUERTO RICO
Years later, after suppressing an Indian uprising in Hispaniola (comprising modern-day Haiti and the
Dominican Republic), Ponce de León was named the provincial governor of the eastern part of the
country.
Hearing persistent reports of gold to be found on nearby Puerto Rico, in 1508 Ponce de León was
officially sent by the Spanish crown to explore the island (there are account of him unofficially exploring
it up to two years earlier on his own). He took 50 soldiers with him on a single ship and explored the
island, settling near what is now San Juan. A year later, he returned to Hispaniola, having found much
gold but running short on supplies, and was named governor of Puerto Rico.
The expedition was seen as a great success, and Ponce de León was instructed to continue the settlement
of the island and step up his gold-mining efforts. So he returned to Puerto Rico, this time bringing his wife
and children along.
THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH AND THE DISCOVERY OF FLORIDA
The Spanish crown soon encouraged Ponce de León to continue searching for new lands, in hopes of
finding yet more gold and expanding the Spanish empire. Also around this time, he learned of a Caribbean
island called Bimini, on which there were rumored to be miraculous waters that could rejuvenate those
who drank from them (the fountain of youth).
His interest piqued, in 1513 Ponce de León led a private expedition to Bimini from Puerto Rico. In a
month's time, he and his men landed on the coast of Florida instead. He did not initially realize that he
was on the mainland of North America and instead thought he had landed on another island. He named
the region Florida because he discovered it at Easter time (Spanish: Pascua Florida) and because its
vegetation was lush and floral.
After exploring the coast, he returned to Puerto Rico, which he found roiling with a native uprising.
Ponce de León soon left for Spain, where he was named military governor of Bimini and Florida and
secured permission to colonize those regions. He was also ordered to organize an army to subdue the
native uprising on Puerto Rico, which had continued in his absence. He left for Puerto Rico in May 1515
with his small fleet.
RETURN TO FLORIDA AND DEATH
Accounts of the battle that ensued after his arrival are spotty, but in 1521, Ponce de León sailed again for
Florida with two ships and 200 men, intent on settling the land. This time, though, he was wounded by an
arrow during an Indian attack, after which he and his colonists sailed to Cuba, where he soon died of the
wound.
Francis Drake
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: Francis Drake
 BIRTH DATE: c. 1540
 DEATH DATE: January 28, 1596
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Tavistock, Devonshire,
England
 PLACE OF DEATH: Portobelo, Panama
 FULL NAME: Sir Francis Drake
 ORIGINALLY: Francis Drake
BEST KNOWN FOR
English admiral Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in 1577-1578, helped defeat the Spanish
Armada and was the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan era.
EARLY YEARS
Like many of his contemporaries, no birth records exist for Sir Francis Drake. It is believed he was born
between 1540 and 1544, based on dates of later events. Records show he was 22 when he obtained his
first command in 1566. Two portraits help further narrow the date: one painted in 1581, when he was
42, and another painted in 1594, when he was 53.
Francis Drake was the eldest of 12 sons born to Edmund Drake and Mary Mylwaye Drake. Edmund was a
farmer on the estate of Lord Francis Russell, the second earl of Bedford, who was also Francis' godfather.
Francis was apprenticed to a merchant who sailed coastal waters trading goods between England and
France. He took to navigation well and was soon enlisted by his relatives, the Hawkinses. They were
privateers who prowled the shipping lanes off the French coast, seizing merchant ships.
LIFE AS A PRIVATEER
By the 1560s, Francis Drake was given command of his own ship, the Judith. With a small fleet, Drake and
his cousin, John Hawkins, sailed to Africa to engage in the slave trade. They then sailed to New Spain to
sell their captives to settlers, an action that was against Spanish law. In 1568, Drake and Hawkins were
trapped in the Mexican port of San Juan de Ulua. The two escaped, but many of their men were killed. The
incident instilled in Drake a deep hatred of the Spanish crown.
In 1572, Francis Drake obtained a privateer's commission from Queen Elizabeth I (essentially a license to
plunder any of King Philip of Spain's property.) In that year, he embarked on his first independent voyage
to Panama. He planned to attack the town of Nombre de Dios, a drop-off point for Spanish ships bringing
silver and gold from Peru. With two ships and a crew of 73 men, Drake captured the town. However, he
was seriously wounded during the raid, so he and his men withdrew without much loot. They stayed in
the area for a time, and after Drake’s wounds healed, they raided several Spanish settlements, picking up
much gold and silver along the way. They returned to Plymouth in 1573.
With the success of the Panama expedition, Queen Elizabeth sent Francis Drake out against the Spanish
along the Pacific coast of South America in November 1577. He was accompanied by two other men, John
Wynter and Thomas Doughty. The agreement was that the three men would share command
responsibilities on the expedition. Soon after raiding several Spanish settlements near the Azores, Drake
assumed command, a declaration that didn't set well with Doughty. Tensions flared between the two all
the way across the Atlantic.
Upon arriving off the coast of Argentina, Drake sensed that Doughty was plotting a mutiny and had him
arrested. After a brief and possibly illegal trial, Doughty was convicted and beheaded. Drake took full
command of the expedition by making all officers responsible only to him.
Francis Drake then led the fleet into the Strait of Magellan to reach the Pacific Ocean. They were soon
caught in a storm, and two ships lagged behind. One ship, commanded by John Wynter, reversed course
and returned to England. The other disappeared and was never seen again. Drake remained in his
flagship, The Golden Hind, and sailed up the coasts of Chile and Peru, plundering unprotected Spanish
merchant ships full of gold and silver. Drake landed off the coast of California, claiming it for Queen
Elizabeth. After repairing the ship and replenishing food supplies, he set sail across the Pacific, through
the Indian Ocean and around Cape of Good Hope back to England, landing at Plymouth in 1580. Drake
had become the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world. The treasure he captured made him a
wealthy man, and the Queen knighted him in 1581. Later that year, he was elected to the House of
Commons.
Between 1585 and 1586, relations between England and Spain grew worse. Elizabeth unleashed Sir
Francis Drake on the Spanish in a series of raids that captured several cities in North and South America,
taking treasure and inflicting damage on Spanish morale. These acts prompted Spain’s King Philip II to
invade England. He ordered the construction of a vast armada of warships, fully equipped and manned
for the task. In a preemptive strike, Drake conducted a raid on the Spanish city of Cadiz, destroying more
than 30 ships and thousands of tons of supplies. He laughingly referred to this act as "singeing the king of
Spain’s beard."
In 1588, Sir Francis Drake was appointed vice admiral of the English Navy, under Lord Charles Howard.
On July 21, 130 ships of the Spanish Armada entered the English Channel in a crescent formation. The
English fleet sailed out to meet them. For several days, the English fleet used its superior speed and
maneuverability to harass the Armada with long-range cannon fire. Two Spanish ships were damaged
and had to be rescued. Drake was able to capture one of the Spanish ships carrying the payroll for the
Spanish Army.
On July 27, Spanish commander Medina Sidonia anchored the Armada off the coast of Calais, France, in
hopes of meeting up with Spanish soldiers who would join in the invasion. The next evening, Lord
Howard and Sir Francis Drake organized fireships to sail right into the Spanish fleet. They did little
damage, but the ensuing panic caused some of the Spanish captains to cut anchor and scatter. The
southwesterly wind carried many of the ships into the English Channel, and the English followed in
pursuit.
At the Battle of Gravelines, the English began getting the better of the Spaniards. With the Armada
formation broken, the lumbering Spanish galleons were easy targets for the English ships, which could
quickly move in to fire one or two well-aimed broadsides before scurrying off to safety.
By late afternoon, most English ships were out of gunpowder and pulled back. Medina Sidonia was forced
to take the Armada north around Scotland and back to Spain. As the Armada sailed away from the
Scottish coast, a strong gale drove may ships onto the Irish rocks. Thousands of Spaniards drowned, and
those who reached land were killed by English soldiers and locals. Of the 25,000 men that set out in the
Armada, fewer than 10,000 arrived in Spain safely.
FINAL EXPEDITIONS AND DEATH
In 1589, Queen Elizabeth ordered Sir Francis Drake to seek out and destroy any remaining ships of the
Armada, and help Portuguese rebels in Lisbon fighting against the Spanish occupiers. The expedition was
a disaster. Drake lost 20 ships and more than 12,000 men. Drake returned home and for the next several
years, busied himself with duties as mayor of Plymouth.
In 1595, the queen once again called on Sir Francis Drake to wage war on Spain. Traveling with Drake
was his cousin, John Hawkins. They were to capture Spain's treasure supply in Panama, in hopes of
cutting off revenue and ending the war. After a few skirmishes in the Caribbean, Drake's fleet moved
farther west and anchored off the coast of Portobello, Panama. There, Drake contracted dysentery and on
January 28, 1596, died of a fever. He was buried in a lead coffin at sea near Portobello, Panama. Divers
continue to search for the coffin.
John Cabot
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: John Cabot
 OCCUPATION: Explorer
 BIRTH DATE: c. 1450
 DEATH DATE: c. 1499
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Genoa, Italy
 FULL NAME: John Cabot
BEST KNOWN FOR
Explorer John Cabot made a British claim to land in Canada, mistaking it for Asia, during his 1497 voyage
on the ship Matthew.
EARLY YEARS
Italian sailor and explorer John Cabot was born Giovanni Caboto around 1450. In 1497, Cabot traveled by
sea to Canada, where he made a claim to land for England, mistaking the North American land for Asia.
Cabot was the son of a spice merchant, Giulio Caboto, in Genoa. At age 11, his family moved to Venice,
where he learned sailing and navigation from Italian seamen and merchants. In 1474, John Cabot married
a girl named Mattea and eventually became the father of three sons: Ludovico, Sancto and Sebastiano.
Sebastiano would later follow in his father’s footsteps, becoming an explorer in his own right.
In 1476, Cabot officially became a Venetian citizen and began conducting trade in the eastern
Mediterranean. Records indicate that he got into financial trouble and left Venice as a debtor in
November 1488. During this time, Cabot became inspired by the discoveries of Bartolomeu
Dias and Christopher Columbus. Like Columbus, Cabot believed that sailing west from Europe was the
shorter route to Asia. Hearing of opportunities in England, Cabot traveled there and met with King Henry
VII, who gave him a grant to "seek out, discover, and find" new lands for England.
NORTH AMERICAN VOYAGES
In early May of 1497, Cabot left Bristol, England, on the Matthew, a fast and able ship weighing 50 tons,
with a crew of 18 men. Cabot and his crew sailed west and north under Cabot's belief that the route to
Asia would be shorter from northern Europe than Columbus's voyage along the trade winds. On June 24,
1497, 50 days into the voyage, Cabot landed on the east coast of North America, though the precise
location of this landing is subject to controversy. Some historians believe that Cabot landed at Cape
Breton Island or mainland Nova Scotia. Others believe he may have landed at Newfoundland, Labrador or
even Maine.
Though the Matthew's logs are incomplete, it is believed that John Cabot went ashore with a small party
and claimed the land for the King of England. The ship sailed for England in July 1497 and arrived in
Bristol on August 6, 1497. Cabot was soon rewarded with a pension of £20 and the gratitude of King
Henry VII. In February 1498, he was given permission to make a new voyage to North America.
MYSTERIOUS ENDS
In May 1498, John Cabot departed from Bristol with five ships and a crew of 300 men. The ships carried
ample provisions and small samplings of cloth, lace points and other "trifles," suggesting an expectation
of fostering trade with indigenous people. En route, one ship became disabled and sailed to Ireland, while
the other four ships continued on. From this point, there is only speculation as to the fate of the voyage
and John Cabot. For many years, it was believed that the ships were lost at sea. More recently, however,
documents have emerged that place Cabot in England in 1500, laying speculation that he and his crew
actually survived the voyage. Historians have also found evidence to suggest that Cabot's expedition
explored the eastern Canadian coast, and that a priest accompanying the expedition might have
established a Christian settlement in Newfoundland. What can be said with some certainty is that John
Cabot claimed North America for England, setting the course for England's rise to power in the 16th and
17th centuries.
Jacques Cartier
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: Jacques Cartier
 OCCUPATION: Explorer
 BIRTH DATE: December 31, 1491
 DEATH DATE: September 01, 1557
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Saint-Malo, Brittany,
France
 PLACE OF DEATH: Saint-Malo, Brittany,
France
BEST KNOWN FOR
French explorer Jacques Cartier is known chiefly for exploring the St. Lawrence River and giving Canada
its name.
FIRST MAJOR VOYAGE TO NORTH AMERICA
Born in Saint-Malo, France on December 31, 1491, Jacques Cartier reportedly explored the Americas,
particularly Brazil, before making three major North American voyages. In 1534, King Francis I of France
sent Cartier—likely because of his previous expeditions—on a new trip to the eastern coast of North
America, then called the "northern lands." On a voyage that would add him to the list of famous explorers,
Cartier was to search for gold and other riches, spices, and a passage to Asia.
Cartier sailed on April 20, 1534, with two ships and 61 men, and arrived 20 days later. He explored the
west coast of Newfoundland, discovered Prince Edward Island and sailed through the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, past Anticosti Island.
SECOND VOYAGE
Upon returning to France, King Francis was impressed with Cartier’s report of what he had seen, so he
sent the explorer back the following year, in May, with three ships and 110 men. Two Indians Cartier had
captured previously now served as guides, and he and his men navigated the St. Lawrence, as far as
Quebec, and established a base.
In September, Cartier sailed downriver to what would become Montreal and was welcomed by the
Iroquois who controlled the area, hearing from them that there were other rivers that led farther west,
where gold, silver, copper and spices could be found. Before they could continue, though, the harsh
winter blew in, rapids made the river impassable, and Cartier and his men managed to anger the
Iroquois.
So Cartier waited until spring, when the river was free of ice, and captured some of the Iroquois chiefs
before again returning to France. Because of his hasty escape, Cartier was only able to report to the king
that untold riches lay farther west and that a great river, said to be about 2,000 miles long, possibly led to
Asia.
THIRD VOYAGE
In May of 1541, Cartier departed on his third voyage with five ships. He had by now abandoned the idea
of finding a passage to the Orient, and was sent to establish a permanent settlement along the St.
Lawrence River on behalf of France. A group of colonists was a few months behind him this time.
Cartier set up camp again near Quebec, and they found an abundance of what they thought were gold and
diamonds. In the spring, not waiting for the colonists to arrive, Cartier abandoned the base and sailed for
France. En route, he stopped at Newfoundland, where he encountered the colonists, whose leader
ordered Cartier back to Quebec. Cartier, however, had other plans; instead of heading to Quebec, he
sneaked away during the night and returned to France.
There, his "gold" and "diamonds" were found to be worthless, and the colonists abandoned plans to found
a settlement, returning to France after experiencing their first bitter winter. After these setbacks, France
didn’t show any interest in these new lands for half a century, and Cartier’s career as a state-funded
explorer came to an end. While credited with the exploration of the St. Lawrence region, Cartier's
reputation has been tarnished by his dealings with the Iroquois and abandonment of the incoming
colonists as he fled the New World.
Samuel de Champlain
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: Samuel de Champlain
 OCCUPATION: Explorer, Diplomat
 BIRTH DATE: c. 1570
 DEATH DATE: December 25, 1635
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Brouage, Province of
Saintonge, France
 PLACE OF DEATH: Quebec, Canada
 AKA: Samuel Champlain
 FULL NAME: Samuel de Champlain
BEST KNOWN FOR
Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer and cartographer best known for establishing and governing
the settlements of New France and the city of Quebec.
EARLY LIFE
Samuel de Champlain was born around 1570, in Brouage, a small port town in the province of Saintonge,
on the western coast of France. Although Champlain wrote extensively of his voyages and later life, little
is known of his childhood. He was likely born a Protestant, but converted to Catholicism as a young adult.
FIRST EXPLORATIONS
Champlain's earliest travels were with his uncle, and he ventured as far as Spain and the West Indies.
From 1601 to 1603, he was a geographer for King Henry IV, and then joined François Gravé Du Pont's
expedition to Canada in 1603. The group sailed up the St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers and explored the
Gaspé Peninsula, ultimately arriving in Montreal. Although Champlain had no official role or title on the
expedition, he proved his mettle by making uncanny predictions about the network of lakes and other
geographic features of the region.
Given his usefulness on Du Pont's voyage, the following year Champlain was chosen to be geographer on
an expedition to Acadia led by Lieutenant-General Pierre Du Gua de Monts. They landed in May on the
southeast coast of what is now Nova Scotia and Champlain was asked to choose a location for a
temporary settlement. He explored the Bay of Fundy and St. John River area before selecting a small
island in the St. Croix River. The team built a fort and spent the winter there.
In the summer of 1605, the team sailed down the coast of New England as far south as Cape Cod.
Although a few British explorers had navigated the terrain before, Champlain was the first to give a
precise and detailed accounting of the region that would one day become Plymouth Rock.
ESTABLISHING QUEBEC
In 1608, Champlain was named lieutenant to de Monts, and they set off on another expedition up the St.
Lawrence. When they arrived in June 1608, they constructed a fort in what is now Quebec City. Quebec
would soon become the hub for French fur trading. The following summer, Champlain fought the first
major battle against the Iroquois, cementing a hostile relationship that would last for more than a
century.
In 1615, Champlain made a brave voyage into the interior of Canada accompanied by a tribe of Native
Americans with whom he had good relations, the Hurons. Champlain and the French aided the Hurons in
an attack on the Iroquois, but they lost the battle and Champlain was hit in the knee with an arrow and
unable to walk. He lived with the Hurons that winter, between the foot of Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe.
During his stay, he composed one of the earliest and most detailed accounts of Native American life.
LATER YEARS AND DEATH
When Champlain returned to France, he found himself embroiled in lawsuits and was unable to return to
Quebec.
He spent this time writing the stories of his voyages, complete with maps and illustrations. When he was
reinstated as lieutenant, he returned to Canada with his wife, who was 30 years his junior. In 1627, Louis
XIII's chief minister, Cardinal de Richelieu, formed the Company of 100 Associates to rule New France
and placed Champlain in charge.
Things didn't go smoothly for Champlain for long. Eager to capitalize on the profitable fur trade in the
region, Charles I of England commissioned an expedition under David Kirke to displace the French. They
attacked the fort and seized supply ships, cutting off necessities to the colony. Champlain surrendered on
July 19, 1629 and returned to France.
Champlain spent some time writing about his travels until, in 1632, the British and the French signed the
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, returning Quebec to the French. Champlain returned to be its governor.
By this time, however, his health was failing and he was forced to retire in 1633. He died in Quebec on
Christmas Day in 1635.
Vasco da Gama
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: Vasco da Gama
 OCCUPATION: Explorer
 BIRTH DATE: c. 1460
 DEATH DATE: December 24, 1524
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Sines, Portugal
 PLACE OF DEATH: Cochin, India
 FULL NAME: Vasco da Gama
BEST KNOWN FOR
Vasco da Gama was the first person to sail directly from Europe to India.
EARLY YEARS
Explorer Vasco da Gama was born into a noble family around 1460 in Sines, Portugal. Little is known
about his upbringing except that he was the third son of Estêvão da Gama, who was commander of the
fortress in Sines in the southwestern pocket of Portugal. When he was old enough, young Vasco da Gama
joined the navy, where was taught how to navigate.
Known as a tough and fearless navigator, da Gama solidified his reputation as a reputable sailor when, in
1492, King John II of Portugal dispatched him to the south of Lisbon and then to the Algarve region of the
country, to seize French ships as an act of vengeance against the French government for disrupting
Portuguese shipping.
Following da Gama's completion of King John II's orders, in 1495, King Manuel took the throne, and the
country revived its earlier mission to find a direct trade route to India. By this time, Portugal had
established itself as one of the most powerful maritime countries in Europe.
Much of that was due to Henry the Navigator, who, at his base in the southern region of the country, had
brought together a team of knowledgeable mapmakers, geographers and navigators. He dispatched ships
to explore the western coast of Africa to expand Portugal's trade influence. He also believed that he could
find and form an alliance with Prester John, who ruled over a Christian empire somewhere in Africa.
Henry the Navigator never did locate Prester John, but his impact on Portuguese trade along Africa's east
coast during his 40 years of explorative work was undeniable. Still, for all his work, the southern portion
of Africa—what lay east—remained shrouded in mystery.
In 1487, an important breakthrough was made when Bartolomeu Dias discovered the southern tip of
Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope. This journey was significant; it proved, for the first time, that
the Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected. The trip, in turn, sparked a renewed interest in seeking
out a trade route to India.
By the late 1490s, however, King Manuel wasn't just thinking about commercial opportunities as he set
his sights on the East. In fact, his impetus for finding a route was driven less by a desire to secure for
more lucrative trading grounds for his country, and more by a quest to conquer Islam and establish
himself as the king of Jerusalem.
FIRST VOYAGE
Historians know little about why exactly da Gama, still an inexperienced explorer, was chosen to lead the
expedition to India in 1497. On July 8 of that year, he captained a team of four vessels, including his
flagship, the 200-ton St.
Gabriel, to find a sailing route to India and the East.
To embark on the journey, da Gama pointed his ships south, taking advantage of the prevailing winds
along the coast of Africa. His choice of direction was also a bit of a rebuke to Christopher Columbus, who
had believed he'd found a route to India by sailing east.
Following several months of sailing, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope and began making his way up the
eastern coast of Africa, toward the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean. By January, as the fleet neared
what is now Mozambique, many of da Gama's crewmembers were sick with scurvy, forcing the
expedition to anchor for rest and repairs for nearly one month.
In early March of 1498, da Gama and his crew dropped their anchors in the port of Mozambique, a
Muslim city-state that sat on the outskirts of the east coast of Africa and was dominated by Muslim
traders. Here, da Gama was turned back by the ruling sultan, who felt offended by the explorer's modest
gifts.
By early April, the fleet reached what is now Kenya, before setting sail on a 23-day run that would take
them across the Indian Ocean. They reached Calicut, India, on May 20. But da Gama's own ignorance of
the region, as well as his presumption that the residents were Christians, led to some confusion. The
residents of Calicut were actually Hindu, a fact that was lost on da Gama and his crew, as they had not
heard of the religion.
Still, the local Hindu ruler welcomed da Gama and his men, at first, and the crew ended up staying in
Calicut for three months. Not everyone embraced their presence, especially Muslim traders who clearly
had no intention of giving up their trading grounds to Christian visitors. Eventually, da Gama and his crew
were forced to barter on the waterfront in order to secure enough goods for the passage home. In August
of 1498, da Gama and his men took to the seas again, beginning their journey back to Portugal.
Da Gama's timing could not have been worse; his departure coincided with the start of a monsoon. By
early 1499, several crewmembers had died of scurvy and in an effort to economize his fleet, da Gama
ordered one of his ships to be burned. The first ship in the fleet didn't reach Portugal until July 10, nearly
a full year after they'd left India.
In all, da Gama's first journey covered nearly 24,000 miles in close to two years, and only 54 of the crew's
original 170 members survived.
SECOND VOYAGE
When da Gama returned to Lisbon, he was greeted as a hero. In an effort to secure the trade route with
India and usurp Muslim traders, Portugal dispatched another team of vessels, headed by Pedro Álvares
Cabral. The crew reached India in just six months, and the voyage included a firefight with Muslim
merchants, where Cabral's crew killed 600 men on Muslim cargo vessels. More important for his home
country, Cabral established the first Portuguese trading post in India.
In 1502, Vasco da Gama helmed another journey to India that included 20 ships. Ten of the ships were
directly under his command, with his uncle and nephew helming the others.
In the wake of Cabral's success and battles, the king charged da Gama to further secure Portugal's
dominance in the region.
To do so, da Gama embarked on one of the most gruesome massacres of the exploration age. He and his
crew terrorized Muslim ports up and down the African east coast, and at one point, set ablaze a Muslim
ship returning from Mecca, killing the several hundreds of people (including women and children) who
were on board. Next, the crew moved to Calicut, where they wrecked the city's trade port and killed 38
hostages. From there, they moved to the city of Cochin, a city south of Calicut, where da Gama formed an
alliance with the local ruler.
Finally, on February 20, 1503, da Gama and his crew began to make their way home. They reached
Portugal on October 11 of that year.
LATER YEARS
Little was recorded about da Gama's return home and the reception that followed, though it has been
speculated that the explorer felt miffed at the recognition and compensation for his exploits.
Married at this time, and the father of six sons, da Gama settled into retirement and family life. He
maintained contact with King Manuel, advising him on Indian matters, and was named count of
Vidigueira in 1519. Late in life, after the death of King Manuel, da Gama was asked to return to India, in an
effort to contend with the growing corruption from Portuguese officials in the country. In 1524, King John
III named da Gama Portuguese viceroy in India.
That same year, da Gama died in Cochin—the result, it has been speculated, from possibly overworking
himself. His body was sailed back to Portugal, and buried there, in 1538.
Bartolomeu Dias
QUICK FACTS
 NAME: Bartolomeu Dias
 OCCUPATION: Explorer
 BIRTH DATE: c. 1450
 DEATH DATE: May 29, 1500
 PLACE OF BIRTH: Portugal
 PLACE OF DEATH: South Africa
 FULL NAME: Bartolomeu Dias
 AKA: Bartholomew Diaz
BEST KNOWN FOR
Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias led the first European expedition round the Cape of Good Hope in
1488.
AN AMBITIOUS PLAN
Almost nothing is known about the life of Bartolomeu de Novaes Dias before 1487, except that he was at
the court of João II, king of Portugal (1455-1495), and was a superintendent of the royal warehouses. He
likely had much more sailing experience than his one recorded stint aboard the warship São Cristóvão.
Dias was probably in his mid- to late 30s in 1486 when João appointed him to head an expedition in
search of a sea route to India.
João was entranced by the legend of Prester John, a mysterious and probably apocryphal 12th-century
leader of a nation of Christians somewhere in Africa. João sent out a pair of explorers, Afonso de Paiva (c.
1460-c. 1490) and Pêro da Covilhã (c. 1450-c. 1526), to search overland for the Christian kingdom in
Ethiopia. João also wanted to find a way around the southernmost point of Africa's coastline, so just a few
months after dispatching the overland explorers, he sponsored Dias in an African expedition.
In August 1487, Dias' trio of ships departed from the port of Lisbon, Portugal. Dias followed the route of
15th-century Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão (c. 1450-c. 1486), who had followed the coast of Africa as
far as present-day Cape Cross, Namibia. Dias' cargo included the standard "padrões," the limestone
markers used to stake Portuguese claims on the continent. Padrões were planted at the shoreline and
served as guideposts to previous Portuguese explorations of the coast.
Dias' expedition party included six Africans who had been brought to Portugal by earlier explorers. Dias
dropped off the Africans at different ports along the coastline of Africa with supplies of gold and silver
and messages of goodwill from the Portuguese to the indigenous people. The last two Africans were left
at a place the Portuguese sailors called Angra do Salto, probably in modern Angola, and the expedition's
supply ship was left there under guard of nine men.
EXEPEDITION AROUND SOUTH AFRICA
In early January 1488, as Dias' two ships sailed off the coast of South Africa, storms blew them away from
the coast. Dias is thought to have ordered a turn to the south of about 28 degrees, probably because he
had prior knowledge of southeasterly winds that would take him around the tip of Africa and keep his
ships from being dashed on the notoriously rocky shoreline. João and his predecessors had obtained
navigational intelligence, including a 1460 map from Venice that showed the Indian Ocean on the other
side of Africa.
Dias' decision was risky, but it worked. The crew spotted landfall on February 3, 1488, about 300 miles
east of present-day Cape of Good Hope.
They found a bay they called São Bras (present-day Mossel Bay) and the much warmer waters of the
Indian Ocean. From the shoreline, indigenous Khoikhoi pelted Dias' ships with stones until an arrow fired
by either Dias or one of his men felled a tribesman. Dias ventured further along the coastline, but his crew
was nervous about the dwindling food supplies and urged him to turn back. As mutiny loomed, Dias
appointed a council to decide the matter. The members came to the agreement that they would permit
him to sail another three days, then turn back. At Kwaaihoek, in present-day Eastern Cape province, they
planted a padrão on March 12, 1488, which marked the easternmost point of Portuguese exploration.
On the journey back, Dias observed the southernmost point of Africa, later called Cabo das Agulhas, or
Cape of Needles. Dias named the rocky second cape Cabo das Tormentas (Cape of Storms) for the
tempestuous storms and strong Atlantic-Antarctic currents that made ship travel so perilous.
Back in Angra do Salto, Dias and his crew were aghast to find that only three of the nine men left guarding
the food ship had survived repeated attacks by locals; a seventh man died on the journey home. In Lisbon,
after 15 months at sea and a journey of nearly 16,000 miles, the returning mariners were met by
triumphant crowds. In a private meeting with the king, however, Dias was forced to explain his failure to
meet up with Paiva and Covilhã. Despite his immense achievement, Dias was never again put in a position
of authority. João ordered that henceforth, maps would show the new name for Cabo das Tormentas-Cabo da Boa Esperança, or Cape of Good Hope.
ADVISOR TO VASCO DA GAMA
Following his expedition, Dias settled for a time in Guinea in West Africa, where Portugal had established
a gold-trading site. João's successor, Manuel I (1469-1521), ordered Dias to serve as a shipbuilding
consultant for the expedition of Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524).
Dias sailed with the da Gama expedition as far as the Cape Verde Islands, then returned to Guinea. Da
Gama's ships reached their goal of India in May 1498, nearly a decade after Dias' historic trip around the
tip of Africa.
Afterward, Manuel sent out a massive fleet to India under Pedro Álvares Cabral (c. 1467-c. 1520), and
Dias captained four of the ships. They reached Brazil in March 1500, then headed across the Atlantic
toward South Africa and, further ahead, the Indian subcontinent. At the feared Cabo das Tormentas,
storms struck the fleet of 13 ships. In May 1500, four of the ships were wrecked, including Dias', with all
crew lost at sea.
Robert de La Salle: North American Explorer
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643-1687)
was a French explorer. He was sent by King Louis
XIV (14) to travel south from Canada and sail down
the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. He was
the first European to travel the length of the
Mississippi River (1682). His mission was to explore
and establish fur-trade routes along the river. La
Salle named the entire Mississippi basin Louisiana,
in honor of the King, and claimed it for France on
April 9, 1682. He also explored Lake Michigan
(1679), Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. He
tried to start a settlement in the southern
Mississippi River Valley, but the venture ended in
disaster.
Exploring North America: La Salle traveled from
France to Quebec, New France (Canada), in late
1667. He was determined to find a water passage to the east through North America. Leaving Montreal in
July, 1669, La Salle crossed Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and other places which are not documented (he did
not return to Montreal until late 1670, and may have traveled down the Ohio or Mississippi River). La
Salle made many exploring trips during the years 1671 to 1673.
La Salle returned to France in 1677, getting permission form the King to explore the area between
Florida, Mexico and New France (Canada). He returned to Canada in 1678 with his friend, Henri de Tonty,
and others.
In Canada, they constructed a fort on the Niagara River (between Ontario and New York) and built a ship
called the Griffon, which they used to explore the Great Lakes. They sailed on August 7, 1679, traveling
across Lake Erie and Lake Huron. They traveled across land to Lake Michigan, which they paddled across
in canoes. Returning, they discovered that the Griffon was lost, the fort at Niagara had burned down, and
many men had deserted their posts, robbing supply stores.
Traveling the Length of the Mississippi River: On a 1681 expedition, La Salle and about 40 men again
headed to the Mississippi River. They reached the Mississippi River on February 6, 1682, then headed
down it in canoes. They built Fort Prud'homme at what is now Memphis, Tennessee, and later reached
the Gulf of Mexico on April 9, 1682, where they built a cross. They claimed all the land along the
Mississippi River for France. Their return to New France was beset by illness and Indian attacks.
Settling Gone Awry: La Salle returned to France in 1683, but sailed to the New World again in 1684 with
four ships, intending to start a colony in the Mississippi River Valley (the king actually wanted him to
travel to the Rio Grande to take over Spanish mines, but La Salle lied and told him that the Mississippi
was farther north than it is). The expedition lost a vital supply ship en route, and mistakenly landed in
Matagorda Bay, near what is now Houston, Texas, where one ship ran aground. La Salle's men shot
Indians who took supplies from the wrecked ship, making enemies of the local Indians. One ship returned
to France with a disgruntled crew.
Stranded in Texas: The French expedition built a fort at the mouth of the Lavaca River, and explored the
area. The last remaining ship was wrecked by a drunken pilot in April 1686, stranding the French in
Texas. The 20 men traveled up the Lavaca River, trying to locate the Mississippi River so they could
follow it north into the French missions in the Great Lakes region. Most of the men in this expedition died,
and the 8 survivors returned to the fort in October, 1686. On a second try, La Salle and 17 others set out
(25 people remained at the fort); in a few months, a group of five mutineers shot and killed La Salle (near
Navasota, Texas) on March 19, 1687. They left his body for the animals to eat. The rest of the expedition
made it to Montreal in 1688, but those at the fort were killed by the Karankawa Indians.
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Alvares Cabral was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded
as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast
of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are unclear, it is known
that he came from a minor noble family and received a good education. He was appointed to head an
expedition to India in 1500, following Vasco da Gama's newly opened route around Africa. The object of
the undertaking was to return with valuable spices and to establish trade relations in India—bypassing
the monopoly on the spice trade then in the hands of Arab, Turkish and Italian merchants.
His fleet of 13 ships sailed far into the western Atlantic Ocean, perhaps intentionally, where he made
landfall on what he initially assumed to be a large island. As the new land was within the Portuguese
sphere according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, Cabral claimed it for the Portuguese Crown. He explored
the coast, realizing that the large land mass was probably a continent, and dispatched a ship to notify
King Manuel I of the new territory. The continent was South America, and the land he had claimed for
Portugal later came to be known as Brazil. The fleet stocked back up on goods and then turned eastward
to resume the journey to India.
A storm in the southern Atlantic caused the loss of several ships, and the six remaining ships eventually
rendezvoused in the Mozambique Channel before proceeding to Calicut in India. Cabral was originally
successful in negotiating trading rights, but Arab merchants saw Portugal's venture as a threat to their
monopoly and stirred up an attack by both Muslims and Hindus on the Portuguese entrepôt. The
Portuguese sustained many casualties and their facilities were destroyed. Cabral took vengeance by
looting and burning the Arab fleet and then bombarded the city in retaliation for its ruler having failed to
explain the unexpected attack. From Calicut the expedition sailed to the Kingdom of Cochin, another
Indian city-state, where Cabral befriended its ruler and loaded his ships with coveted spices before
returning to Europe. Despite the loss of human lives and ships, Cabral's voyage was deemed a success
upon his return to Portugal. The extraordinary profits resulting from the sale of the spices bolstered the
Portuguese Crown's finances and helped lay the foundation of a Portuguese Empire that would stretch
from the Americas to the Far East.[B]
Cabral was later passed over, possibly as a result of a quarrel with Manuel I, when a new fleet was
assembled to establish a more robust presence in India. Having lost favor with the King, he retired to a
private life of which few records survive. His accomplishments slipped mostly into obscurity for more
than 300 years. Decades after Brazil's independence from Portugal in the 19th century, Cabral's
reputation began to be rehabilitated by Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Historians have long argued whether
Cabral was Brazil's discoverer, and whether the discovery was accidental or intentional. The first
question has been settled by the observation that the few, cursory encounters by explorers before him
were barely noticed at the time and contributed nothing to the future development and history of the
land which would become Brazil, the sole Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. On the second
question, no definite consensus has been formed, and the intentional discovery hypothesis lacks solid
proof. Nevertheless, although he was overshadowed by contemporary explorers, Cabral today is regarded
as a major figure of the Age of Discovery.