Christopher Columbus
(1451-1506)
This website will introduce you to twelve early European Explorers. Come along for the journey and see where it takes you...
Christopher Columbus
(1451-1506)
He was from
Spain. He sailed to Columbia in 1500. He then lived in Hispaniola
and in Darien in Panama (Central America). He heard about another
ocean, so he led an expedition west in 1513. There he found a big
peaceful ocean (Pacific Ocean) that he named the South Sea. He was
no longer a favorite of the King. He was arrested, convicted of treason,
and beheaded in January 1519.
Hernando Cortes
(1485-1547)
He was the Spanish Conquistador who conquered Mexico and the Aztecs. He "gave" Mexico to Spain in 1521. The Aztecs first thought the Europeans were gods, because they looked like a legendary god-king who was light-skinned and bearded. The Aztecs received Cortes with honor. However, Cortes seized the Aztec ruler Montezuma as a hostage, and forced him to swear allegiance to the king of Spain and provide a ransom in gold and jewels. Cortes sent this gold back to Spain. He took large amounts of land for his family and friends. He founded the city of Veracruz in 1519.
Ferdinand Magellan
(1480?-1521)
He was Portuguese,
but he sailed for Spain, because Portugal would not pay for his war wounds
after he fought in their war against Morocco. He decided to help
the King of Spain find out if the Spice Islands were on the Spanish side
of the world or the Portuguese side of the world. (The two countries
had "divided" up the world.) He sailed down South America's cost,
around its tip to the "new" ocean and then on across to the Philippines.
He was killed there, but Juan Sebastian del Cano took over. Sebastian
del Cano sailed his ship back to Spain to become the first ship to sail
around the world.
He was French and sailed for France. He discovered and explored the Saint Lawrence River in 1534. He was looking for the northwest passage to China. He went as far as Montreal on his second and third voyages. He wrote in his journals about his travels. He "claimed" Canada for France.
Francisco Vasquez De Coronado
(1510-1554)
He was French and sailed for France. Some people call him "The Father of New France". He made twelve explorations and map making trips from 1603 to 1633. He traveled from the Bay of Fundy to Cape Cod. He started the first French colonies at Sainte-Croixe in 1604, Port Royal in 1605, and Quebec in 1608. He also was the first European to explore Lake Champlain, Lake Huron, and Lake Ontario. He started fur trading with Native Americans along these routes.
He was a pirate-turned-explorer, born in 1540, his was the second ship to circumnavigate the globe. He was a loyal servant to Queen Elizabeth of England. She sent him around the world in a ship named the Pelican (later renamed the Golden Hind). He stopped in Peru and Chile and traded with the Spanish for gold and silver. He went north, following the coast, for thousands of miles until he came to northern California. He named this land New Abion and claimed it for England. He sailed around the world in 1580. He was able to prove that Tierra del Fuego was an island, and not a continent as many Europeans believed. He led raids on the Spanish settlements in the new world, and brought back a lot of gold and silver to England. He died from dysentery near Panama in 1596.
He was born in Scotland in 1764, but moved to Canada, and became a fur trapper. He explored North America in the area now called Canada. In 1793, he was the first European to reach the Pacific by crossing the North American continent through the Rocky Mountains. He returned to England and was knighted by King George III in 1802.
He was born
in San Tervas de Campos, Spain, in 1474. He sailed on Columbus' second
trip to the New World. After that, he settled on a Caribbean island
named Hispaniola. In 1506, he "discovered" a close-by island named
Borinquin. He became the governor of this island (today we know it
as Puerto Rico). Ponce de Leon wanted something more. He begged
the king to give him men and ships to search for the island of Bimini,
where there was said to be a "fountain of youth". On his quest, he
explored many islands and a peninsula which he named "Florida" in 1513.
He called it Florida because it had so many flowers. He never found
the fountain of youth.
Christopher Columbus'
Route
coming soon
This page was created by Alison Farrand farrands@rcn.com using resources from the following sources:
Lexington Public Schools Second Grade Social Studies Curriculum
http://www.mariner.org/age/menu.html
http://quaboag.k12.ma.us/earlyam.html
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr095.shtml
Microsoft's Encarta 98
