The name of my explorer is John Cabot.
John Cabot sailed from Bristol England in May 1497 and found land on June 14, 1497.
John Cabot sailed in search of a shorter route to Asia and to claim any islands that he
found, instead he landed somewhere in Atlantic Canada. John Cabot only hand 20 people
onboard he also got lost forever during his second voyage. John Cabot is an important
explorer because of his discovery of rich fishing areas.
The explorer I am researching is Amerigo Vespucci. He sailed in the year 1492. Some
interesting facts about Amerigo are that he published his own letters about his adventures.
He published the letter in the year 1503 and then they republished it in 1504, the title was
Mundus Novus. He became a Spanish citizen in the year 1505. Some important facts are
that he worked for the government agency that didn’t agree with commerce in the New
World. He sailed to South America.
The explorer I am researching is Hernan Cortes. He sailed to Hispaniola, which
today consists of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in the year 1519. He landed in
Yucatan, where he discovered the Indians. One interesting fact about Hernan Cortes is
that he met and befriended an Indian lady named Malinche who became his guide and
interpreter. An additional interesting fact is that he was appointed Governor and Captain
General of the land he conquered in central and southern Mexico by King Charles I of
Spain.
Prince Henry the Navigator
The explorer I researched was Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal. He
sponsored explorations of the west African coast during the 1400s. He was born on
March 4, 1394, in Porto, Portugal and he died in 1460. Prince Henry did not sail on any
of the voyages he sponsored.
The voyages that he paid for helped Portugal to find a sea route to the Indies. His
goal was to find a route to the rich spice trade of the Indies and to explore the west coast
of Africa. Henry’s sailors brought back African slaves to the Island of Maderia to work
on sugar plantations.
Prince Henry was best known for his navigation skills. He started a School for the
study of navigation, mapmaking, and shipbuilding. He developed ships that would allow
sea captains to sail further and faster. He taught sailors how to better guide their ships.
Even though Prince Henry the Navigator never actually sailed on any voyages, I
believe that his accomplishments were important. The voyages he sponsored found a sea
route to the Indies and discovered the western coast of Africa. I believe his most
important accomplishment was establishing a School of the arts of navigation,
mapmaking, and shipbuilding.
Christopher Columbus was one of the many great explorers in history. He set sail
under Queen Isabella for the country of Spain, this of course only after his home country
Italy would not lend him a boat of their own. He departed Spain in 1492 looking for a
new route to India in order to increase the spice and silk trade.
What he instead found in 1504 was a few scattered islands off the coast of North
America, known today as Cuba and many of the Bahamas. Although often accredited
with being the first explorer to reach North America there has been recent evidence to
suggest the Romans and even the Vikings arrived before him. However despite this we
still celebrate his false legacy as founder of America, which ironically is named after a
different explorer, Amerigo Vespucci another Spanish conquistador. Also Columbus’
stumbling onto these islands is the reason Native Americans are often mistakenly called
Indians, because when he arrived he believed himself to be in India, where he hoped to
sail to to begin with, however what he found proved to be much more profound.
Reason this Explorer is important
Samuel de Champlain is an explorer who sailed for the country or France
The years he sailed from 1599-1624
He discovered Port Royal and he discovered Quebec
He had a lake named after him
Not even half survived in the first winter
His father was a captain of a boat
Because he changed the world he is an explorer
Ferdinand Magellan
Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is famous for leading the first expedition that sailed
around the world. He is also known for being the first European to sail across the Pacific
Ocean. He discovered and named the Pacific Ocean. Magellan sailed for his country,
Portugal on many expeditions from 1505-1517. He traveled to India, the East Coast of
Africa, Malaysia, and Morocco. When he learned about the Spice Islands and wanted to
try to sail there going west, but Portugal would not support the trip. He went to Spain
and asked for support. He thought that the Spice Islands might belong to Spain not
Portugal.
After two years he had money and supplies to sail west with five ships and 240 men.
The trip was long. They ran out of water and food. There were mutinies. Some ships
were damaged. They had to sit out the winter in South America. He did find the western
passage and it is named the Strait of Magellan in his honor. Next he discovered the
Pacific Ocean and sailed across it. Times on the ships were still hard. There was little
water and few supplies. Eventually they reached the Philippines. Magellan taught
Christianity to some of the Filipinos. He was killed there in a battle between two groups
there.
FUN FACTS: Magellan achieved greatness despite many hardships. He lost his
parents at the age of ten. He was injured while a young man and walked with a limp. He
died before he could return to Spain a hero for achieving what he set out to do,
discovering the western route to the Spice Islands.
The explore I am researching is John Smith. John smith sailed in the year 1606.
He was sailing for gold and silver in America. John sailed from England to make a
colony in Virginia. John was an English soldier. John also wrote books. He also worked
at his father’s farm till he was 15. John is an important explorer because he went to
Virginia and made colonies. John got hurt in 1609 by a gunshot wound. After that the
winter of that year the colony was all wiped out by starvation and Indian raids. He came
back and spent a couple of months exploring the coast in the Massachusetts bay are. Later
that year he named that place New England. After long years of fighting and getting
beating Smith died on June 21 1631.