8th Grade - European Exploration

Technology

the use of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovered the 'New World' of the Americas on an expedition sponsored by King Ferdinand of Spain in 1492. Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator. In 1492, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña ships alongside, hoping to find a new route to India. Between 1492 and 1504, he made a total of four voyages to the Caribbean and South America and has been credited and blamed for opening up the Americas to European colonization.

Compass

navigation aid that shows the direction in which a person or vessel is traveling.

Caravel

A small, highly maneuverable three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish in the exploration of the Atlantic.

Portugal claims Brazil (1494)

Although Spain continues to claim land in South America, a large region remains outside its empire. In the Treaty of Tordesillas, Portugal claims Brazil and issues grants of land to Portuguese nobles. European settlers move to Brazil to farm brazilwood and sugar.

Columbian Exchange (1493)

Beginning in 1493, Columbus brought nearly 1,200 settlers and a variety of European animals and plants. Europeans found new foods and transported them back to the Old World. Plus, old plants from Europe were taken to the New World. This was the seventh most important event because the Columbian Exchange helped Europeans have food to eat, and it helped Native Americans hunt better because horses were introduced to the New World.

Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596)

English admiral Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe from 1577-1580, helped defeat the Spanish Armada of 1588 and was the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan era. Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer involved in piracy and illicit slave trading who became the second person ever to circumnavigate the globe. In 1577, Drake was chosen as the leader of an expedition intended to pass around South America, through the Strait of Magellan, and explore the coast that lay beyond. Drake successfully completed the journey and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I upon his triumphant return. In 1588, Drake saw action in the English defeat of the Spanish Armada, though he died in 1596 from dysentery after undertaking an unsuccessful raiding mission.

Martin Frobisher (1594)

English explorer Martin Frobisher is best known for his attempts to discover a Northwest Passage and his voyages to Labrador and Frobisher Bay in Canada. Martin Frobisher was an English explorer who became a licensed pirate and plundered French ships off the coast of Africa. In the 1570s, he made three voyages to discover a Northwest Passage. Instead, he discovered Labrador and what is now Frobisher Bay. Later, he was knighted for fighting against the Spanish Armada.

John Cabot (1450-1499)

Explorer John Cabot made a British claim to land in Canada, mistaking it for Asia, during his 1497 voyage on the ship Matthew. John Cabot was a Venetian explorer and navigator known for his 1497 voyage to North America, where he claimed land in Canada for England. After setting sail in May 1498 for a return voyage to North America, he disappeared and Cabot's final days remain a mystery.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1475-1519)

Explorer and conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. Explorer and conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa helped establish the town of Darien on the Isthmus of Panama, becoming interim governor. In 1513, he led the first European expedition to the Pacific Ocean, but news of the discovery arrived after the king had sent Pedro Arias de Avila to serve as the new governor of Darien. Avila, reportedly jealous of Balboa, had him beheaded for treason in 1519.

Jacques Cartier (1495-1557)

French explorer Jacques Cartier is known chiefly for exploring the St. Lawrence River and giving Canada its name. French navigator Jacques Cartier was sent by King Francis I to the New World in search of riches and a new route to Asia in 1534. His exploration of the St. Lawrence River allowed France to lay claim to lands that would become Canada. He died in Saint-Malo in 1557.

Giovanni da Verrazano (1485-1528)

Giovanni da Verrazano was an Italian explorer who charted the Atlantic coast of North America between the Carolinas and Newfoundland, including New York Harbor in 1524. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York was named after him. Around 1506 or 1507, Giovanni da Verrazano began pursuing a maritime career, and in the 1520s, he was sent by King Francis I of France to explore the East Coast of North America for a route to the Pacific. He made landfall near what would be Cape Fear, North Carolina, in early March and headed north to explore. Verrazano eventually discovered New York Harbor, which now has a bridge spanning it named for the explorer. After returning to Europe, Verrazano made two more voyages to the Americas. On the second, in 1528, he was killed and eaten by the natives of one of the Lower Antilles, probably on Guadeloupe.

Prince Henry (1394-1460)

Henry the Navigator, a 15th century Portuguese prince, helped usher in both the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic slave trade. Although Prince Henry the Navigator was neither a sailor nor a navigator, he sponsored a great deal of exploration along the west coast of Africa. Under his patronage, Portuguese crews founded the country's first colonies and visited regions previously unknown to Europeans. Henry is regarded as an originator of the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic enslaved people trade.

Hernan Cortes (1485-1547)

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who explored Central America, overthrew Montezuma and his vast Aztec empire and won Mexico for the crown of Spain. Born around 1485, Hernan Cortés was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who defeated the Aztecs and claimed Mexico for Spain. He first set sail to the New World at the age of 19. Cortés later joined an expedition to Cuba. In 1518, he set off to explore Mexico. Cortés strategically aligned some Indigenous peoples against others and eventually overthrew the vast and powerful Aztec empire. As a reward, King Charles I appointed him governor of New Spain in 1522.

English merchants found the East India Company (1600)

Hoping to exploit trade in East and Southeast Asia and India, a group of English merchants form the East India Company by royal charter. With this company, the English break the Spanish and Portuguese monopoly of the East Indian spice trade. The company later becomes involved in politics and acts as an agent of British imperialism in India.

Dutch merchants found the Dutch East India Company (1602)

In the late 1500s, the Dutch set up colonies and trading posts around the world. A group of wealthy merchants found the Dutch East India Company, which furthers their quest to be the major European commercial power in the east. The company also comes into conflict with the English East India Company.

Bartolomeu Dias (1450-1500)

Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias led the first European expedition round the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. Born in 1450, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was sent by Portuguese King John II to explore the coast of Africa and find a way to the Indian Ocean. Dias departed circa August 1487, rounding the southernmost tip of Africa in January 1488. The Portuguese (possibly Dias himself) named this point of land the Cape of Good Hope. Dias was lost at sea during another expedition around the Cape in 1500.

Vasco da Gama (1460-1524)

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East. He was the first person to sail directly from Europe to India.. In 1497, explorer Vasco da Gama was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East. His success in doing so proved to be one of the more instrumental moments in the history of navigation. He subsequently made two other voyages to India and was appointed as Portuguese viceroy in India in 1524.

The Line of Demarcation divides the world between Spain and Portugal (1493)

Spain and Portugal press rival claims to the lands Columbus explores, and in 1493 Pope Alexander VI steps in to keep the peace. He sets a Line of Demarcation, which divides the non-European world into two zones. Spain has trading and exploration rights in all lands west of the line, while Portugal has the same rights east of the line.

Francisco Pizarro (1478-1541)

Spanish explorer and conquistador Francisco Pizarro helped Vasco Nunez de Balboa discover the Pacific Ocean, and after conquering Peru, founded its capital city, Lima. In 1513, Francisco Pizarro joined Vasco Nunez de Balboa in his march to the "South Sea," during which Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. In 1532, Pizarro and his brothers conquered Peru. Three years later, Pizarro founded the nation's new capital, Lima. Pizarro was assassinated on June 26, 1541, in Lima, Peru, by vengeful members of an enemy faction of conquistadors.

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)

While in the service of Spain, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan led the first European voyage of discovery to circumnavigate the globe.. As a boy, Ferdinand Magellan studied mapmaking and navigation. By his mid-20s, he was sailing in large fleets and was engaged in combat. In 1519, with the support of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Magellan set out to find a better route to the Spice Islands. He assembled a fleet of ships which, despite huge setbacks and Magellan's death, circumnavigated the world in a single voyage.

Astrolabe

a device that enabled navigators to learn their ship's location by charting the position of the stars.