European Exploration
Christopher Columbus
• Born in 1451 & Died in
1506
• An Italian Explorer who
sailed across the Atlantic
Ocean in 1492 hoping to
find a route to India
• Voyages funded by King &
Queen of Spain
Christopher Columbus
First Voyage
• Set sail on August 3, 1492 with three ships (Nina, Pinta, and
Santa Maria) and 90 crew members
• Crew members grew frightened after going days and days
without seeing land & turned against Columbus
• Spotted the Caribbean Islands on October 11, 1492
• Columbus thought he had made it to Asia naming the area the
Indies. He named the area San Salvador.
• Santa Maria wrecked on the return trip, and the captain of the
Pinta sailed off on his own to try to beat Columbus back.
Christopher Columbus
Second Voyage
• September 1493 to June 1496: He sailed with 17 ships &
thousands of men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves in
the Indies.
• He established a base in Hispaniola and sailed around
Hispaniola and around Cuba. Columbus spotted and named
the island of Dominica.
Third voyage
•
May 1498 to October 1500: He sailed farther south to
Trinidad and Venezuela.
• He was first European since the Vikings to “discover” the
New World.
Christopher Columbus
Fourth Voyage
• May 1502 to November 1504: Columbus
sailed to Mexico, Honduras, Panama, and
Santiago.
Interesting Facts
• Columbus never made it to the Indies.
However, he sailed across 5,000 miles of
ocean and was able to find the same island
again and again without the use of a compass
or accurate map!
Henry Hudson
• Born in 1565 & Died in 1611
• An English explorer and
navigator who explored parts
of the Artic Ocean and
northeastern North America
• In 1609, he was hired by the
Dutch East India Company to
discover the Northwest
Passage to Asia
• Sailed on a ship called the
Half Moon
Henry Hudson
• During his voyage, he found what
is now called the Hudson River in
present-day New York.
• Hudson realized this was not a
waterway to India.
• On another trans-Atlantic trip in
1610, Henry Hudson’s crew kicked
him off the boat. He was never
heard from again.
Jacques Cartier
• Born in 1491 & Died in 1557
• A French explorer who led three expeditions to
Canada in 1531, 1535, and 1541.
• In 1531 he set sail in search of a route to the Pacific
through North America (a Northwest Passage).
• In 1535 the King of France sent Cartier out again. On
this voyage he discovered the St. Lawrence River
sailing over 1000 miles in Canada.
Jacques Cartier
• Cartier named Canada “Kanata”, the Iroquois' word
for “village.”
• He tried to create a settlement in Quebec near an
Indian village, but it was abandoned after a cold
winter and many sailors died of scurvy.
• Although he never found the Northwest Passage, his
journey led to many French expeditions to Canada.
Juan Ponce de Leon
• Born in 1460? in Spain & Died in 1521
• A Spanish Explorer and soldier who was
the first European to set foot in Florida
• In early 1490s was a soldier fighting
Muslims in southern Spain
• Sailed with Christopher Columbus in 1493
• However, instead of returning to Spain
with Columbus he stayed in Santo Domingo
(now called the Dominican Republic)
Juan Ponce de Leon
•
After his service to Spain, Ponce de Leon was given the
right to find and take the Island of Bimini (in the Bahamas).
• He sailed from Puerto Rico in March of 1513 searching for
riches and “The Fountain of Youth” (a legendary spring that
gave people eternal life and health.
• In April 1513, they reached the east coast of Florida (St.
Augustine).
• He named the land “Pascua de Florida” (feast of flowers)
and claimed the land for Spain.
Juan Ponce de Leon
• Ponce de Leon returned to Spain and was named Captain
General by the King of Spain on September 27, 1514.
• On his last expedition in 1521, he set out to search Bimini.
Ponce de Leon and his crew of 200 men were met by Native
American Warriors when they landed on the west coast of
Florida.
• Many of his men were wounded by arrows. Ponce de Leon
died from his wounds.
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
• Born in 1475 & Died in 1519
• A Spanish conquistador and explorer who was the
first European to see the Eastern part of the Pacific
Ocean, crossing the Isthmus of Panama
• In 1500, he sailed with Rodrigo de Bastidas from
Spain to Columbia, South America searching for
pearls and gold.
• They were forced to abandon their ship in
Hispaniola when it began to leak.
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
• Balboa tried unsuccessfully to farm for a living.
• Sailed in September of 1513 with hundreds of
Spaniards and Indians to find new land for
Spanish settlers to exploit
• He fought many local Indians and destroyed one
Indian village, killing hundreds of Indians along
the way.
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
• Balboa crossed the mountains and jungles
of Panama and became the first European to
reach the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean.
• He and his men traveled the ocean claiming
it and the land that touched it for Spain.
• They spent a month conquering Natives
along the coast and stealing their gold.
• In 1514, Balboa’s enemies in Spain accused
him of treason. He was found guilty and
beheaded in 1519.
John Cabot
“Giovanni Caboto”
• Born in 1450 & Died in 1499
• an Italian-born English explorer and
navigator, moved to England in 1495
• Cabot believed Asia could be
reached by sailing west. He
convinced King Henry VII that it was
possible to reach Asia on a more
northerly route than Columbus had
taken and it would be shorter!
John Cabot
• Cabot sailed in 1497 on a ship called “Matthew”
with his son, Sebastian. He thought he landed on
the east coast of Asia However, he actually landed
in the New World near Newfoundland, Canada. He
claimed the land for King Henry.
• Cabot is credited for exploring the mainland of
North America and the first to search for the
Northwest Passage.