Christopher Columbus

- sailed for Spain in 1492

-the first European to document finding land in the western Hemisphere
-He did four total voyages to the New World thinking he was in Asia all the time
Amerigo Vespucci
-portugal in 1499
- Believing he had discovered a new continent, he called South America the New World
- In 1507, America was named after him
Vaco Nunez Blboa
-spain 1513
- crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached
the Pacific from the New World
- He founded the settlement of Santa Mara la Antigua del Darin
Juan Ponce de Leon
-Spain 1513
-discovered florida when searching for the fountain of youth
-he was Christopher columbuss cousin/ He was the first governor of Puerto Rico
Ferdinand Magellan
-spain 1519
- The first circumnavigation of the Earth, from Europe to East, and to West; for the first expedition from Europe to Asia by the West; and
for captaining the first expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to the Strait of Magellan and across the Pacific Ocean
- Magellans expedition claimed to have encountered giants in South America.

Hernan (hernando) Cortes
-Spain 1519
- led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of
Castile
- His enmity with the Governor of Cuba, Diego Velzquez de Cullar, resulted in the recall of the expedition at the last moment, an order
which Corts ignored.

Francisco Pizarro
-spain 1509
- Spanish conquistador who conquered the Incan Empire.
-January 1535, Pizarro founded the city of Lima, a project he considered his greatest achievement



Hernando de Soto
-Spain 1539
- led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, and the first documented to have crossed the
Mississippi River
- sold all his belongings and used the money to prepare for an expedition to North America

Cabeza de Vaca
-spain 1527
- one of four survivors of the 1527 Narvez expedition/ explored texas
-converted from a conquistador to a trader and healer

Jacques Cartier
-french 1534
- First European to travel inland in North America. Claimed Canada for France.
- Cartier returned to France from his first voyage, sure that he had reached an Asian land.

Samuel de Champlain
-french 1603
- Exploration of New France, foundation of Quebec City, Canada, being called The Father of New France
-known as "The Father of New France"/ many places, streets, and structures in northeastern North America bear his name, or have
monuments established in his memory (Lake Champlain)

Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet
-french 1673
- area of the portage was a continental divide from which water flowed out through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, and in the
opposite direction, south down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. From that spot, a settlement could control trade for a huge mass of
the American territory. All that was needed to secure this nation was a short canal connecting Lake Michigan and the Illinois River,
through an area that was covered by stinkweed, called "chicaguoa" by the locals.
- Joliet's mission was to find the river the natives called Messipi, "the Great Water," and follow it to the sea. Marquette's goal was to spread
the word of his god among the people they encountered.
Henry Hudson
-England 1609
- embarked on a third voyage funded by the Dutch East India Company that took him to the New World and the river that would be given
his name. On his fourth voyage, Hudson came upon the body of water that would later be called the Hudson Bay.
-Never found what he was looking for. He spent his career searching for different routes (ice-free) to Asia, but he ended up opening the
door to further exploration and settlement of North America.



Jon Cabot
-England 1497
- first European since the Vikings to explore the mainland of North America and the first to search for the Northwest Passage
- claimed land in Canadamistaking it for Asiafor King Henry VII of England.

Robert La Salle
-France 1666
- exploring the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico
- named the entire Mississippi basin Louisiana, in honor of the King, and claimed it for France on April 9, 1682