Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator and explorer
who played a prominent role in exploring the New World.
First trip May 10,1497, controversial letter indicates that
ship sailed through the West Indies (Discovered
Venezuela)
May 1499, He discovered the Amazon River and Cape St.
Augustine.
North and South America are named after Amerigo
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson made his first voyage west from England in 1607,
when he was hired to find a shorter route to Asia from Europe
through the Arctic Ocean.
Because of the thriving trade in spices and silk between Asia and
Europe, Henry Hudson and other explorers made a number of
difficult and dangerous voyages searching for a northeast
or northwest passage.
He sailed for the Dutch East India Company–in 1609 where he tried
to sail con across the North American continent to the Pacific.
After navigating the Atlantic coast, Hudson’s ships sailed up a
great river (which would later bear his name) but turned back
when they determined it was not the channel they sought.
Christopher Columbus
The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the
Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was
determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but
he never did.
Columbus wanted fame and fortune. Ferdinand and Isabella wanted
the same, along with the opportunity to export Catholicism to lands
across the globe.
Christopher Columbus did not “discover” the Americas, nor was he
even the first European to visit the “New World.”
http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus
Giovanni Verrazzano
Giovanni da Verrazzano was an Italian explorer who
chartered 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.
While sailing south of Jamaica, the crew spotted a
heavily vegetated, seemingly unpopulated island,
and Verrazzano dropped anchor to explore it with a
handful of crewmen. The group was soon attacked
by a large assemblage of cannibalistic natives who
killed them
Hernando Cortes
Born in Medellín, Spain, conquistador Hernán
Cortés (c. 1485-1547) first served as a soldier in
an expedition of Cuba led by Diego Velázquez in
1511.
He set his sights on overthrowing the ruler
Montezuma II in the Aztec capital of
Tenochitilán. The Aztecs eventually drove the
Spanish from Tenochitilán, but Cortés returned
to defeat the natives and take the city in 1521.
John Cabot
An Italian explorer sailing for England, John
Cabot was the first European to reach the shores
of North America after the Vikings.
After returning to England to report his success,
Cabot departed on a second expedition in mid1498, but is thought to have perished in a
shipwreck en route.
Jacques Cartier
In 1534, France’s King Francis I authorized the
navigator Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) to lead a
voyage to the New World in order to seek gold
and other riches, as well as a new route to Asia.
Cartier’s three expeditions along the St.
Lawrence River would later enable France to lay
claim to the lands that would become Canada.
Francisco Pizaro
Spanish explorer and conquistador Francisco
Pizarro helped Vasco Núñez de Balboa discover
the Pacific Ocean, and after conquering Peru,
founded its capital city, Lima.
In 1532, accompanied by his brothers, Pizarro
overthrew the Inca leader Atahualpa and
conquered Peru. Three years later, he founded
the new capital city of Lima.