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 First Voyage: They set sail on Aug. 3, 1492 from Palos, Spain, and on October 11, 1492, spotted the Caribbean islands off southeastern North America. They landed on an island they called Guanahani, but Columbus later renamed it San Salvador. They were met by the local Taino Indians, many of whom were captured by Columbus' men and later sold into slavery. Columbus thought he had made it to Asia, and called this area the Indies, and called its inhabitants Indians.

 Second Voyage: On a second, larger expedition (Sept. 25, 1493-June 11, 1496), sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves in the Indies. Columbus established a base in Hispaniola and sailed around Hispaniola and along the length of southern Cuba. He spotted and named the island of Dominica on November 3, 1493.

 Third Voyage: On a third expedition (May 30, 1498-October 1500), Columbus sailed farther south, to Trinidad and Venezuela (including the mouth of the Orinoco River). Columbus was the first European since the Viking Leif Ericsson to set foot in mainland North America.

 Fourth (and Final) Voyage: On his fourth and last expedition (May 9, 1502-Nov. 7, 1504), Columbus sailed to Mexico, Honduras and Panama and Santiago (Jamaica). Columbus is buried in eastern Hispaniola (now called the Dominican Republic).

 Cabot sailed out of Bristol with his ship, the Matthew, on May 2, He landed in the New World, believing that he had landed on the east coast of Asia. Even now, we don’t know exactly where he landed. He may have landed in Maine or Newfoundland, Canada. Wherever he landed, he claimed it in the name of King Henry VII. Cabot became the first European explorer to discover the mainland of North America (Canada and the United States). He sailed further north, making the first recorded attempt to find the Northwest Passage, only to find ice-crusted waters.

 When Cabot arrived back in England, he was given a hero’s welcome for (supposedly) reading the "Land of Spices." He was made an admiral and sent immediately back to find Japan. This time he sailed with five ships, but instead of finding Asian spices, he found dark forests and horrible rivers. Some historians believe that Cabot returned from his second expedition and died around 1499 in England. Others believe that he never returned from his second voyage and was never heard from again. 

 Vespucci returned to Portugal in June Although his fleet had not explored the islands off the coast of Asia, they had discovered a continent between Europe and Asia previously unknown to Europeans. His name was given to North America and South America because he was the first to recognize that it wasn't a part of Asia. Martin Waldseemuller suggested naming these continents after AMERIGO to honor the expeditions.

 He set out with a small party of 67 to cross the mountains in the center of the peninsula. On the morning of September 25, 1513, Balboa climbed a peak and became the first European to look out on what would become the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean (it was named by Ferdinand Magellan during his expedition around the world several years later).

 He spent a month on the Pacific shore collecting gold and pearls and visiting the Pearl Islands in the Caribbean Sea. On his return to the other side of the isthmus, Balboa conquered more native tribes and took even more gold. During the four-month journey, not a single Spanish soldier was killed. In 1514, Balboa’s enemies in Spain, who were jealous of his successes, accused Balboa of treason. They turned the king against him. He was arrested, convicted of treason, and beheaded in January 1519.

 He got five ships and left Seville on September 20, He sailed around the tip of South America. He found the westward passage and it was named the Strait of Magellan in his name. He also found the new ocean and named it the Pacific in honor of its calm and peaceful waters, and crossed it East to West. He landed in Guam and then in the Philippines where he was killed. His crew moved on to the Spice Islands and later made it back by sailing around the tip of South Africa with only 10 men left. Even though he didn't live to the end of the trip Magellan is still considered the leader of the first circumnavigation around the world.

 Cartier was commissioned by Henry II of France to see if he could find a way to Asia and to see if the land the Spanish and British had each found were, in fact, connected.  His missions departed in 1534 and  During the Second voyage his crew was stranded at Hochelaga, near present day Montreal, over the winter. Most of the crew got Scurvy but were saved when Donnacona’s tribe saved them with a tea made from the needles of the white cedar tree. This gave them the vitamin C they needed.

 After the kindness of the first nations, Cartier repaid them by taking Donnacona and four others back to France for the king to see.  Also, during the first trip over Cartier and his crew left a 10 meter tall cross on the Gaspe Pennisula that had “Long Live the King of France” inscribed on it. 

 When Champlain arrived in the St.Lawrence 70 years after Cartier Donnacona’s tribe (the Stadocona’s) were wiped out. This could be because of war with the Haudenosaunee or because of Small pox.  After some trials and tribulations, Champlain discovered and claimed the present day site of Quebec in  

 On his final journey from England in 1610, he again headed northwest towards Canada, this time on the ship Discovery. In August Hudson found a body of water which at first he thought was the Pacific Ocean. The body of water was a large bay, which eventually was named the Hudson Bay.

 In November 1610, the Discovery became locked in ice in Hudson Bay. The crew wanted to get back to England, but Hudson would not let them leave. It was a very cold winter, and the crew suffered greatly in the icy conditions. The crew was thinking of mutiny. In June 1611, they decided to put Hudson, his son, and the seven others into a small boat, and they were never heard from again.

 His route through the central mid-west of North America laid claim to lands for the French crown.  In an effort to conquer Mexico as well, La Salle charted the mouth of the Mississippi West of where it actually is. His crew rebelled and shot him while they were in Texas in 1685.

 Worked hard to find the Pacific Ocean and a passage west.  At first he found a River that took him to an ocean but it was the Arctic Ocean.  Later, traveling by the Peace River and by land, he found the Pacific in 1789.

 Thompson explored mush of western Canada for the English and, specifically, for the Hudson’s Bay Company.  His voyages were often by canoe or horseback.