#separator:tab #html:false #tags column:4 Age of Exploration Period from about 1400 to 1700 when Europeans sailed across oceans world-explorers-age-of-exploration Prince Henry the Navigator Portuguese prince who sponsored voyages along Africa's coast world-explorers-age-of-exploration Bartolomeu Dias First European to sail around Africa's southern tip, 1488 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Vasco da Gama Portuguese explorer who reached India by sea in 1498 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Christopher Columbus Italian sailor who crossed the Atlantic for Spain in 1492 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Columbus's ships The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria world-explorers-age-of-exploration Isabella and Ferdinand Spain's rulers who funded Columbus world-explorers-age-of-exploration San Salvador Island in the Bahamas where Columbus landed in 1492 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Columbian Exchange Movement of plants, animals, people and diseases between the Americas and the Old World world-explorers-age-of-exploration Diseases in the Americas Smallpox and other European illnesses killed many Native people world-explorers-age-of-exploration Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) Spain and Portugal divided newly found lands world-explorers-age-of-exploration Amerigo Vespucci Explorer whose first name gave America its name world-explorers-age-of-exploration John Cabot Italian explorer sailing for England who reached North America in 1497 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Vasco Nunez de Balboa First European to see the Pacific from the Americas, 1513 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Ferdinand Magellan Led the first voyage to sail around the world, 1519-1522 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Juan Sebastian Elcano Completed Magellan's voyage after Magellan died in 1521 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Strait of Magellan Passage near South America's southern tip world-explorers-age-of-exploration Circumnavigation Sailing all the way around the world world-explorers-age-of-exploration Hernan Cortes Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire in 1519-1521 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Francisco Pizarro Spanish conquistador who defeated the Inca in the 1530s world-explorers-age-of-exploration Conquistador Spanish soldier-explorer who conquered lands in the Americas world-explorers-age-of-exploration Ponce de Leon Spanish explorer who explored Florida in 1513 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Hernando de Soto Spanish explorer who traveled through the southeastern US, 1539-1542 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Francisco Coronado Spanish explorer who searched the Southwest for cities of gold world-explorers-age-of-exploration Jacques Cartier French explorer who explored the St. Lawrence River in the 1530s world-explorers-age-of-exploration Samuel de Champlain Founded Quebec in 1608 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Henry Hudson English explorer who explored the Hudson River in 1609 for the Dutch world-explorers-age-of-exploration Northwest Passage Hoped-for water route through North America to Asia world-explorers-age-of-exploration La Salle French explorer who traveled down the Mississippi in 1682 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Marquette and Joliet French explorers who traveled the upper Mississippi in 1673 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Walter Raleigh English courtier who sponsored the Roanoke colonies world-explorers-age-of-exploration Francis Drake English sea captain who sailed around the world, 1577-1580 world-explorers-age-of-exploration James Cook English navigator who mapped Pacific coasts including New Zealand and Hawaii in the 1700s world-explorers-age-of-exploration Abel Tasman Dutch explorer who sighted Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Zheng He Chinese admiral whose fleets reached East Africa in the early 1400s world-explorers-age-of-exploration Ibn Battuta Muslim scholar who traveled across Africa and Asia in the 1300s world-explorers-age-of-exploration Marco Polo Venetian merchant who traveled in Asia in the late 1200s world-explorers-age-of-exploration Leif Erikson Norse explorer who reached North America about 1000 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Viking Vinland Name the Norse gave to the land they reached in North America world-explorers-age-of-exploration L'Anse aux Meadows Norse site in Newfoundland, proof of an early landing world-explorers-age-of-exploration Sacagawea Shoshone woman who guided Lewis and Clark world-explorers-age-of-exploration Lewis and Clark Explored the Louisiana Purchase and reached the Pacific, 1804-1806 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Matthew Henson Black explorer who traveled with Robert Peary to the Arctic world-explorers-age-of-exploration Robert Peary Led expeditions toward the North Pole in the early 1900s world-explorers-age-of-exploration Roald Amundsen Norwegian explorer, first to reach the South Pole, 1911 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Ernest Shackleton Led the Endurance expedition to Antarctica (1914-1917); all his men survived world-explorers-age-of-exploration Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay First climbers confirmed to reach Mount Everest's summit, 1953 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Jacques Cousteau French ocean explorer who co-invented the Aqualung world-explorers-age-of-exploration Neil Armstrong First person on the Moon, 1969 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Sally Ride First American woman in space, 1983 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Mae Jemison First Black woman in space, 1992 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Valentina Tereshkova First woman in space, 1963 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Yuri Gagarin First human in space, 1961 world-explorers-age-of-exploration Gold, God and glory Three motives often given for European exploration world-explorers-age-of-exploration Caravel Small, fast Portuguese ship used for exploring world-explorers-age-of-exploration Astrolabe Tool for finding latitude using the stars or Sun world-explorers-age-of-exploration Compass Magnetic tool for finding direction world-explorers-age-of-exploration Latitude Distance north or south of the equator world-explorers-age-of-exploration Longitude Distance east or west of the prime meridian world-explorers-age-of-exploration Navigator Person who plans a ship's course world-explorers-age-of-exploration Cartographer Mapmaker world-explorers-age-of-exploration Mercator map 1569 map by Gerardus Mercator, useful for sailors world-explorers-age-of-exploration Spice Islands Islands in today's Indonesia that produced cloves and nutmeg world-explorers-age-of-exploration Mercantilism Idea that colonies exist to enrich the home country world-explorers-age-of-exploration Colony Territory settled and controlled by another country world-explorers-age-of-exploration Transatlantic slave trade Forced movement of millions of Africans to the Americas world-explorers-age-of-exploration Potatoes Crop from the Americas that spread to Europe and fed millions world-explorers-age-of-exploration Tomatoes, corn and chocolate Foods that came to Europe from the Americas world-explorers-age-of-exploration Horses in the Americas Spanish brought horses, which changed life on the Plains world-explorers-age-of-exploration Wheat and sugar to the Americas Old World crops carried across the Atlantic world-explorers-age-of-exploration Smallpox Disease that devastated Native communities after contact world-explorers-age-of-exploration