European Explorers: 1400's and 1500's

European Explorer: 1400's and 1500's

Jacques Cartier:

• Born in 1491, was a French explorer who led three expeditions to Canada, in 1534, 1535, and 1541.
• He was looking for a route to the Pacific through North America but did not find one.
• Cartier paved the way for French exploration of North America.
• Cartier sailed inland, going 1,000 miles up the St. Lawrence River.
• He also tried to start a settlement in present day Quebec (in 1541), but it was abandoned after a terribly cold winter.
• Cartier named Canada; "Kanata" means village or settlement, later named the entire region Canada.

Amerigo Vespucci:

• Born in 1454
• Was an Italian explorer who was the first person to realize that the Americas were separate from the continent of Asia.
• America was named for him in 1507, when the German mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller, printed the first map that used the name America for the New World.
• Around 1501 on a second trip he mapped some of the eastern coast of South America, and came to realize it was not part of Asia, but the New World.

Christopher Columbus:

• Was an Italian explorer born in 1451, who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, hoping to find a route to India (in order to trade for spices).
• He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492-1504.
• Columbus sailed for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain, who financed all Columbus' voyages.
• On his first trip, Columbus led an expedition with three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria (captained by Columbus), and about 90 crew members.
• They set sail on Aug. 3, 1492 from Spain, and on October 11, 1492, spotted the Caribbean islands off southeastern North America. They landed on an island they called Guanahani, but Columbus later renamed it San Salvador.
• On Columbus next three expeditions his discovered and claimed the following countries for Spain:
• Hispaniola - Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and many other smaller islands around 1492 (First Trip).
• He spotted and named the island of Dominica on November 3, 1493 (Second Trip).
• On this larger expedition (Sept. 25, 1493-June 11, 1496), sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves.
• Trinidad and Venezuela - on a third expedition (May 30, 1498-October 1500),
• Mexico, Honduras and Panama, Santiago (Jamaica) on his fourth and last expedition (May 9, 1502-Nov. 7, 1504).
• Columbus is buried in eastern Hispaniola (now called the Dominican Republic).

John Giovanni Cabot:

• Was born in 1450 in Italy but moved to England in 1495.
• At the request of King Henry VII of England, Cabot sailed to Canada in 1497, commanding a small ship named "Matthew."
• Cabot landed near Labrador, Newfoundland, or Cape Breton Island on June 24, 1497.
• Cabot claimed the land for England.
• Cabot explored the Canadian coastline and named many of its islands and capes.
• The mission's purpose was to search for a Northwest passage across to Asia. Cabot was unsuccessful, although he thought that he had reached northeastern Asia.
• Cabot undertook a second, larger expedition in 1498. On this trip, Cabot may have reached America, but that is uncertain.
• Cabot's expeditions were the first of Britain's claims to Canada.
• John Cabot died in England in 1499.

Juan Ponce de Leon:

• Was a Spanish explorer and soldier who was the first European to set foot in Florida.
• He also established the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered the Gulf Stream.
• Ponce de Leon was searching for the legendary fountain of youth and other riches.
• Born in Santervas, Spain, in 1460, Ponce de Leon was a soldier fighting Muslims in southern Spain in the early 1490's.
• Ponce de Leon sailed on Christopher Columbus' second expedition to the Americas in 1493. Ponce de Leon did not return to Spain with Columbus; he stayed in Hispaniola.
• Ponce de Leon discovered the island of Bimini now the in the Bahamas; he was still searching for riches and the fountain of youth.
• Ponce de Leon reached the east coast of Florida and settled St. Augustine in April 1513. Ponce de Leon named the land "Pascua de Florida" (feast of flowers) because they first spotted land on April 2, 1513, Palm Sunday. He then claimed the land for Spain.
• He returned to Spain and was named a Captain General by the King of Spain on September 27, 1514, and again sailed to Puerto Rico to search for the elusive Bimini.
• His last expedition was another search for Bimini in 1521. His force of 200 men landed on the west coast of Florida, but were met by Native American warriors, who wounded many of the men with arrows, including Ponce de Leon. Ponce de Leon later died in Havana, Cuba, from this wound (in July, 1521). He is buried in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo:

• Was a Spanish or Portuguese explorer.
• Cabrillo was the first European explorer of the Californian coast.
• In 1542, he sailed from Acapulco to southern California, claiming California for King Charles I of Spain.
• Cabrillo named San Diego and Santa Barbara.