EUROPEAN EXPLORERS

SIR FRANCES DRAKE Country of birth: England (1540) Country sponsored: England Explored for: gold Doesn’t get any initial credit – Queen Elizabeth doesn’t want a war with Spain Area explored/achievements: 1570s: began voyages to the New World Would attack Spanish settlements and destroy ships 1572: crossed Isthmus of Panama Saw the Pacific Ocean 1577: Queen Elizabeth of England secretly gives him money to continue voyages Expeditions around South America, capturing Spanish ships Circumnavigated the world to avoid Spanish revenge, first Englishman to circumnavigate Queen knighted him Known as a pirate to the Spanish “El Drake” Known as the greatest navigator and privateer and “Mistress of the Seas” to the English

FERDINAND MAGELLAN Country of birth: Portugal (1480) Country sponsored: Spain Explored for: gold & glory Area explored/achievements: Was interested in finding western water route to Spice Islands 1520: landed in Philippine Islands Waters around the tip of South America “Straits of Magellan” Convinced the Spanish king Spice Islands would be in “Spanish” half of the world Treaty of Tordesillas Magellan’s crew was the first to circumnavigate the world

HENRY HUDSON Country of birth: England (1565) Country sponsored: England & Holland Explored for: gold & glory Area explored/achievements: Discovered the Hudson Strait, Hudson Bay and Hudson River Explored Arctic Ocean, Greenland and northeastern North America His crew mutinied him and set him on a small boat

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Country of birth: Italy (1451) Country sponsored: Spain Explored for: gold, glory & God Area explored/achievements: Wanted to find a short cut to the Spice Islands by sailing west Landed in San Salvador, present day Bahamas (thought he was in the Spice Islands naming the people “Indians”) / Hispaniola Visited Puerto Rico, Martinique and Trinidad BRUTAL towards natives, forcing them to look for gold and precious stones, enslaved hundreds He always believed he had found a western water route to the Spice Islands Created the Columbian Exchange

FRANCISCO PIZARRO Country of birth: Spain (1470) Country sponsored: Spain Explored for: gold & glory Area explored/achievements: Joined Balboa’s expedition across Isthmus of Panama to Pacific Ocean Expeditions into Central America - looking for Incas Reached Canzmarca where the Inca leader lived Captured leader (Atahualpa) kept him captive, received thousand pounds of gold and silver as ransom then killed Atahualpa and his men Founded city of Lima, Peru Called it Ciudad de los Reyes – Spanish for City of Kings Very greedy and ruthless conquistador - conquered Incas which helped make Spain the most rich and powerful nation at this time

EUROPEAN EXPEDITIONS IN TEXAS

ALONZO ALVAREZ DE PINEDA Country of birth: Spain (1494) Sponsored by Spain Explored for: gold & glory Area explored/achievements: King sent him to chart (map) and explore the Gulf Coast from Florida to Mexico His exploration was the first in Texas Mapped and explored Corpus Christi Bay

ROBERT DE LASALLE Country of birth: France (1643) Country sponsored: France Explored for: gold & glory Area explored/achievements: Explored parts of Canada The Great Lakes Claims Mississippi River Basin area for France Last expedition came back to North America tried to colonize along the Gulf Coast of Mexico It was full of pirate attacks, hostile natives and bad navigation Expedition ended up off target creating Fort St. Louis LaSalle was murdered by one of his men in present-day Navasota, TX Claimed Louisiana after King Louis XIV

ALVAR NUNEZ CABEZA DE VACA Country of birth: Spain Country sponsored: Spain Explored for: gold & glory Area explored/achievements: Explores Gulf of Mexico into present day Mexico Published accounts of his travels including the terrible treatment of natives by the Spanish