1. 1400’s 1488 1492 Bartolomeu Dias Christopher Columbus
Prince Henry the Navigator started a navigation school and paid for sailing expeditions in the Atlantic
Portuguese explorer who discovered a passage around the southern tip of Africa; names the tip the “Cape of Good Hope.”
1488
Bartolomeu Dias
Italian who sailed for Spain. He discovered the New World. He believed one could sail west from Europe to reach Asia.
1492
Christopher Columbus

2. 1497 1498 1501 John Cabot Vasco da Gama Amerigo Vespucci
Italian who sailed for England. Founded Newfoundland by taking a northern route across the Atlantic.
1497
John Cabot
Portuguese explorer who becomes the first to sail directly from Europe to India
1498
Vasco da Gama
Italian who sailed for both Spain and Portugal. Explored Central and South America. German map maker named America after him.
1501
Amerigo Vespucci

3. 15 13 1521 1522 Ponce de Leon Vasco de Balboa Hernando de Cortez
Spanish conquistador who became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from its eastern shore. He gave the ocean its name.
Spanish conquistador who discovered and named Florida. He conquered Puerto Rico, a major city is named after him.
15 13
Ponce de Leon
Vasco de Balboa
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztecs in what is now Mexico.
1521
Hernando de Cortez
Portuguese explorer who sailed for Spain. Became the first person to circumnavigate the globe. Discovered the Philippines.
1522
Ferdinand Magellan

4. 1524 1524 1532 Giovanni da Verrazano Cabeza de Vaca Francisco Pizarro
Italian who sailed for France. Explored the Northeast coast of America. Discovered Manhattan Island and New York Bay.
1524
Giovanni da Verrazano
Spanish explorer who searched for the mythical city “El Dorado” in the American Southwest, specifically in what is now Texas.
1524
Cabeza de Vaca
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Incan Empire in modern day Peru and Ecuador. 
1532
Francisco Pizarro

5. 1524 1524 1532 Giovanni da Verrazano Cabeza de Vaca Francisco Pizarro
Italian who sailed for France. Explored the Northeast coast of America. Discovered Manhattan Island and New York Bay.
1524
Giovanni da Verrazano
Spanish explorer who searched for the mythical city “El Dorado” in the American Southwest, specifically in what is now Texas.
1524
Cabeza de Vaca
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Incan Empire in modern day Peru and Ecuador. 
1532
Francisco Pizarro

6. 1542 1577 1608 Rodriguez Cabrillo Sir Francis Drake
Spanish explorer who became the first European to navigate the coast of present day California.
1542
Rodriguez Cabrillo
The first Englishman to sail around the world. As vice-admiral he defeated the Spanish Armada in their attempt to invade England. 
1577
French explorer who established the first French settlement in what is now Quebec, Canada. Known as the “Father of Canada.”
Sir Francis Drake
1608
Samuel de Champlain

7. Englishman who sailed for both England and Holland
Englishman who sailed for both England and Holland. Searched for a Northwestern route to Asia. Discovered what is now the Hudson Bay.
1609
Henry Hudson
English explorer who established England’s first colony in the “New World” on Roanoke Island.
1585