![]() |
Our subscribers' grade-level estimate for this page: 4th - 5th |
![]() |
Zoom Explorers |
![]() |
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Africa | Antarctica | Arctic | Australia | Canada | Mexico | North America | South America | Space | Undersea | Women |
1300's and Earlier | 1400's | Early 1500's | Late 1500's | 1600's | 1700's | 1800's | 1900's | Glossary of Exploration Terms |
AYLLON, LUCAS VAZQUEZ DE |
BALBOA, VASCO NUNEZ DE For more information on Balboa, click here. |
CABEZA DE VACA, ALVAR NUNEZ |
CABOT, SEBASTIAN Sebastian Cabot (1474?-1557?) was an explorer, mapmaker and navigator of Italian descent. He worked as a cartographer (mapmaker) for England's King Henry VIII, was a captain for Spain's King Ferdinand V, explored for England's King Henry VII, and may have secretly explored for Venice. Sebastian Cabot's father was the explorer John Cabot. Cabot searched for the Northwest passage across North America (1508). He began an unsuccessful trip around the world (1526-1529) in a voyage that supposed to sail to China and the Moluccas (the Spice Islands, in Indonesia), but he only made it as far as the enormous mouth of the Rio de la Plata (a river between Argentina and Uruguay in South America). Later, he began to work for the English again, searching for a water passage across the north of Asia around 1553. |
CARTIER, JACQUES Cartier sailed inland, going 1,000 miles up the St. Lawrence River. He also tried to start a settlement in Quebec (in 1541), but it was abandoned after a terribly cold winter. Cartier named Canada; "Kanata" means village or settlement in the Huron-Iroquois language. Cartier was given directions by Huron-Iroquois Indians for the route to "kanata," a village near what is now Quebec, but Cartier later named the entire region Canada. |
CASTILLO, BERNAL DIAZ DEL Bernal Diaz del Castillo, also known as Bernal Diaz, (1492-1584) was a Spanish historian and soldier who chronicled the Spanish conquest of Mexico. In 1514, he went to America as a soldier, with Pedrarias Dávila, the new governor of Darien. In 1517, he sailed to the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, with Francisco de Córdoba's expedition. He returned to Mexico in 1518 with Grijalva, and in 1519, with Hernando Cortés. This last expedition entailed over 100 battles, including the surrender of Mexico City (in 1521). As a reward for his service, he was appointed governor of Santiago de los Caballeros in Guatemala. Bernal Diaz del Castillo published "Verdadera Historia de la Conquista de Nueva España", (True History of the Conquest of New Spain) in 1568. |
COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER |
CORDOBA, FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ DE Francisco Fernández de Córdoba (? - 1524) was a Spanish explorer and slave trader who explored Mexico (1517) and Nicaragua (1524). For more information on, Cordoba, click here. |
CORONADO, FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE |
DA GAMA, VASCO Da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, to India (and back) in 1497-1499. At that time, many people thought that this was impossible to do because it was assumed that the Indian Ocean was not connected to any other seas. Da Gama's patron was King Manuel I of Portugal, who sent da Gama, then an Admiral, on another expedition to India (1502-1503). After King Manuel's death, King John III sent da Gama to India as a Portuguese viceroy (the King's representative in India). Da Gama died in India in 1524. Go to a page on da Gama. |
DE AYLLON, LUCAS VAZQUEZ |
DE LEON, PONCE |
DE NARVAEZ, PANFILO De Narvaez was granted the land of Florida by the Emperor Charles V in 1526. He led an expedition there with 300 men, including Cabeza de Vaca. After surviving a hurricane near Cuba, his expedition landed on the west coast of Florida (near Tampa Bay) in April, 1528, claiming the land for Spain. For more information on de Narvaez, click here. |
DE NIZA, MARCOS Fray Marcos de Niza (1495 - March 25, 1558 ) was a Franciscan priest who is said to have traveled to the fabled "Seven Golden Cities of Cibola" in what is now the western part of New Mexico. De Niza was born in Savoy (now in France, but it was Italian then), and became a Franciscan friar. He sailed to the Americas in 1531, and traveled to Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico. He freed some Native American slaves at Culiacán, Mexico. He and the Moorish slave Estevanico were sent from Mexico City to find Cibola by the Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza (March to August 1539). De Niza reported that he and Estevanico saw the extraordinarily rich "Seven Golden Cities of Cibola," but they were later found to be simple Zuni Indian pueblos. Estevanico was killed by Zuni Indians during this expedition. De Niza survived and eventually was in charge of his Franciscan order (1541). |
DE SOTO, HERNANDO |
DE VACA, ALVAR NUNEZ CABEZA |
Diogo Dias was a Portuguese navigator (and brother of Bartolomeu Dias) who was the first European to sail to Madagascar, an island off the southeastern coast of Africa. Diogo Dias landed in Madagascar in 1500, and named it the Isle of St. Lawrence. His ship had been on an expedition with Pedro Álvares Cabral and Bartolomeu Dias, but Diogo Dias' ship became separated from the others at the Cape of Good Hope, and then came upon Madagasacar. He then returned to Portugal. |
DIAZ, BERNAL Bernal Diaz del Castillo, also known as Bernal Diaz, (1492-1584) was a Spanish historian and soldier who chronicled the Spanish conquest of Mexico. In 1514, he went to America as a soldier, with Pedrarias Dávila, the new governor of Darien. In 1517, he sailed to the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, with Francisco de Córdoba's expedition. He returned to Mexico in 1518 with Grijalva, and in 1519, with Hernando Cortés. This last expedition entailed over 100 battles, including the surrender of Mexico City (in 1521). As a reward for his service, he was appointed governor of Santiago de los Caballeros in Guatemala. Bernal Diaz del Castillo published "Verdadera Historia de la Conquista de Nueva España", (True History of the Conquest of New Spain) in 1568. |
ESTEVANICO For more information on Estevanico, click here. |
NARVAEZ, PANFILO DE De Narvaez was granted the land of Florida by the Emperor Charles V in 1526. He led an expedition there with 300 men, including Cabeza de Vaca. After surviving a hurricane near Cuba, his expedition landed on the west coast of Florida (near Tampa Bay) in April, 1528, claiming the land for Spain. For more information on de Narvaez, click here. |
MAGELLAN, FERDINAND![]() For more on Magellan, click here.
|
PINZON, VINCENTE In 1499, Vincente Pinzon sailed to the Brazilian coast (at a cape he named Santa María de la Consolación). From there, he sailed northwest to the Amazon River, whose mouth he explored. He sailed north to northeastern Venezuela (to the Gulf of Paria) and then returned to Spain. In 1508, he sailed to the New World twice with Juan Díaz de Solís, trying to find a a passage to the Spice Islands. They sailed to Central America, but the exact locations of these explorations are unknown (they either sailed to Honduras and the Yucatán peninsula or to Venezuela and Brazil). |
VACA, ALVAR NUNEZ CABEZA DE |
Zoom Explorers |
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Africa | Antarctica | Arctic | Australia | Canada | Mexico | North America | South America | Space | Undersea | Women |
1300's and Earlier | 1400's | Early 1500's | Late 1500's | 1600's | 1700's | 1800's | 1900's | Glossary of Exploration Terms |
Guidelines for Writing a Report on an Explorer |
Enchanted Learning®
Over 35,000 Web Pages
Sample Pages for Prospective Subscribers, or click below
Overview of Site What's New Enchanted Learning Home Monthly Activity Calendar Books to Print Site Index K-3 Crafts K-3 Themes Little Explorers Picture dictionary PreK/K Activities Rebus Rhymes Stories Writing Cloze Activities Essay Topics Newspaper Writing Activities Parts of Speech Fiction The Test of Time iPhone app TapQuiz Maps - free iPhone Geography Game
|
Biology Animal Printouts Biology Label Printouts Biomes Birds Butterflies Dinosaurs Food Chain Human Anatomy Mammals Plants Rainforests Sharks Whales Physical Sciences: K-12 Astronomy The Earth Geology Hurricanes Landforms Oceans Tsunami Volcano |
Languages Dutch French German Italian Japanese (Romaji) Portuguese Spanish Swedish Geography/History Explorers Flags Geography Inventors US History Other Topics Art and Artists Calendars College Finder Crafts Graphic Organizers Label Me! Printouts Math Music Word Wheels |
Click to read our Privacy Policy
Search the Enchanted Learning website for: |