Exploration
Explorers in the late 15th, 16th, nad early 17th centuries began the European phase of American history. Their "discoveries" in the New dispelled rumors of a northwest passage and settled ancient questions of world geography. Contact between Europeans and Native Americans would have a dramatic effect on Europe, but a devastating impact on those who were wrongly called "Indians."
Christopher Columbus: Spanish explorer who, with the backing of Ferdinand V and Isabella I, discovered the North American continent on October 12,1492. Though he was originally seeking a westward route to India, his fleet of ships consisting of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria reached the island of Hispanola, claiming it for Spain.
Giovanni Verrazano: Mariner who explored the East coast of the United States and Nova Scotia under the commission of France in 1524. He was commissioned to claim new lands in the New World and find a route to China. He was the first European to enter New York Bay. His land claims were not colonized until the 17th century.
Ferdinand Magellan: Portuguese explorer who was the first person to sail across the Pacific Ocean and to circumnavigate the globe. Sailing under a Spanish commission, he attempted to reach the Spice Islands. After crossing the Pacific, Magellan was killed battling natives in the Philippines but two of his ships returned to Spain.
Francisco Pizarro: Spanish explorer and military leader who conquered Peru. Pizarro was part of many early explorations of the New World and was involved in the colonization of Panama. When he found the Inca empire in Peru he organized a expedition of 180 men and destroyed the empire in 1531.
John Cabot: Explorer sent by Henry VII in 1497 who explored and claimed Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and the Grand Banks for England. Cabot was originally sent by Henry in violation of the treaty of Tordesillas to find a direct route to Asia. Cabot, like Columbus thought he had reached Asia, unaware he was exploring a new continent.
Pedro Alvares Cabral: Portuguese navigator and explorer who explored what is now Brazil. While making a trip to India on April, 22, 1500 his fleet was forced off course by weather and he reached what is now the state of Bahia, Brazil. He claimed this land for Portugal.
Vasco Nunez de Balboa: Spanish explorer who is best known for being the first to reach the Pacific Ocean in 1513. While attempting to escape debt he joined an expedition lead by Martin Fernandez de Enciso where he took control of the party and led it across the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean, which he claimed for the Spanish monarchs.
Jacques Cartier: French explorer who explored the Saint Lawrence River. In 1534 Cartier lead a two ship party to find the northwest passage to Asia. He explored Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While exploring, he claimed the lands for France which made up most of its claim to Canada.
Juan Ponce de Leon: Spanish explorer who discovered the present day state of Florida on March 27, 1512. Following reports of a fountain of youth, he sailed from his colony in Puerto Rico to the eastern shore of Florida where, upon landing, his party was attacked by natives and where he was mortally wounded before retreating to Cuba.
Hernando Cortez: Spanish conquistador who is best known for the destruction of the Aztec Empire in present day Mexico. On February 19,1519 Cortez left Cuba with a force of 600 men. Upon landing, Cortez was greeted by the Aztecs who he began to subjugate. He destroyed all resistance and destroyed the Aztec capital in present day Mexico City.
encomiendas: Grants that give a person the right to take labor in the form of slaves or any type of homage form a designated group of Indians. Christopher Columbus who was sailing for Spain and who was one of the first conquistadors also began this practice in Hispanolia.
Spanish Armada, 1588: Naval force launched by Phillip II of Spain to fight England. The Fleet was the largest of its time in the 16th century. The Armada was severely damaged when it was attacked off the coast of England on August 7,1588 and cut nearly in half by storms upon return to Spain, making Britain the dominant sea power.
Colombian Exchange: The exchange of biological organisms between continents. The diseases brought to the American continent that helped to nearly destroy the native populations is one example of that exchange. Besides disease, many plants and animals have been brought to new environments with varying consequences.
Order of Colonization: (colony, date, prominent figure) Virginia in 1607, John Smith; Plymouth in 1620, William Bradford; New York in 1626, Peter Minuit; Massachusetts Bay in 1630, John Winthrop; Maryland in 1633, George Calvert; Rhode Island in 1636, Roger Williams; Connecticut in 1636, Thomas Hooker; New Hampshire in 1638; Delaware in 1638; North Carolina in 1653; South Carolina in 1663; New Jersey in 1664; Pennsylvania in 1682, William Penn; Georgia in 1732, James Oglethorpe.
