Explorers Study Guide
Name _________________
History VA SOL
3.3 The student will study the exploration of the Americas by
a) describing the accomplishments of Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de León, Jacques Cartier, and Christopher
Newport;
b) identifying the reasons for exploring, the information gained, the results of the travels, and the impact of the travels on
American Indians.
3.5 The student will develop map skills by
c) locating the countries of Spain, England, and France;
d) locating the regions in the Americas explored by Christopher Columbus (San Salvador in the Bahamas), Juan Ponce de
León (near St. Augustine, Florida), Jacques Cartier (near Quebec, Canada), and Christopher Newport (Jamestown,
Virginia)
Directions: Fold study guide in half. Ask the question on the left. Check by turning the
page over to look at the answers on the back. (Can be used alone or with a partner.)
Questions
Answers
1. What country did Ponce de Leon
come from?
2. What country did Christopher
Newport come from?
3. What country sponsored Christopher
Columbus?
4. What country did Jacques Cartier
come from?
5. What was the first permanent
ENGLISH settlement in the America?
6. What was the first Spanish settlement
in America?
7. What was the first French settlement
in America?
8. Why did Christopher Columbus sail
to America?
1. Ponce de Leon came from Spain.
9. Why did Ponce de Leon sail to
America?
9. Ponce de Leon wanted to discover
riches and find land. He was also
searching for the Fountain of Youth.
10. Columbus had small ships. The
weather was bad. His men got sick.
2. Newport came from England.
3. Columbus was sponsored by Spain.
4. Cartier was from France.
5. The first permanent English settlement
in America was Jamestown, Virginia.
6. The first Spanish settlement in America
was St Augustine, Florida.
7. The first French settlement in America
was Quebec, Canada.
8. Columbus wanted to find a western
sea route to Asia.
10. What were some problems
Christopher Columbus had on his
journey?
11. What were some problems Ponce de 11. Ponce de Leon encountered bad
Leon had on his journey?
weather. He had poor maps. The Indians
were unfriendly.
12. What were Christopher
Columbus’s accomplishments?
13. What were Ponce de Leon’s
accomplishments?
14. What is a sponsor?
15. What is an explorer?
16. What continent did most explorers
come from?
17. What ocean did the early European
explorers cross to get to the Americas?
18. What waterway did Jacques Cartier
explore and name?
19. What was Jacques Cartier’s
accomplishment?
20. What is a colony?
21. What is a European?
22. What were Christopher Newport’s
accomplishments?
23. How were the Native Americans
affected by the European exploration?
12. Columbus was the first European to
discover the “New World” of America.
13. Ponce de Leon established the first
Spanish settlement at St. Augustine,
Florida.
14. Someone who backs or supports
another, usually with money, is a sponsor.
15. An explorer is a person who travels
seeking new discoveries.
16. Most explorers came from the
continent Europe.
17. The Europeans crossed the Atlantic
Ocean to get to the Americas.
18. Cartier explored and named the St.
Lawrence River.
19. Cartier found and named the St.
Lawrence River. He claimed the land for
the French.
20. A colony is a group of emigrants who
settle in a distant land, but remain
connected with the parent country.
21. A European is a person from one of
the countries of Europe.
22. Newport arrived at (present day)
Jamestown. He made four additional
voyages bringing more people to
Jamestown. He was one of the first men
to reach the Fall Line of the James River.
23. The natives were introduced to
deadly diseases. Exploration by
Europeans later led to settlement of the
natives’ land. The settlements led to
relocation of the American Indians from
their homeland.