Christopher Columbus

Traveling to India around the southern tip of Africa was dangerous and difficult. An Italian sailor by the name of Christopher Columbus proposed finding a new route by sailing West. Columbus thought that if they sailed West, they would eventually circle the globe, and arrive in Eastern Asia.

For seven years, Christopher Columbus traveled around Europe looking for someone who would finance his journey. The monarchs of Europe made fun of him, saying that it was too risky, and dangerous to attempt such a voyage around the globe.

Finally, Columbus arrived in Spain. For many years, Spain had been caught up in civil war. As a result, they were behind much of Europe in their development. King Ferdinand, and Queen Isabella were anxious to prove that Spain could be as powerful and successful as their neighbor Portugal.

In August of 1492 they granted Christopher Columbus the supplies, men, and ships that he needed to carry out his expedition. Columbus was given three sailing ships. These ships were named the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

Columbus’ men were terrified that they would be lost at sea, and that they would suffer starvation. As the days wore on, these men began to turn against him. Columbus was forced to agree to turn back, if they did not find land within three days.

On the night of the second day, just before he would have had to turn around, land was sighted. Columbus and his men discovered an island in the Caribbean, which they named Hispanolia. This Island is the location of the present day nations of Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

Columbus did not realize that he had arrived in a new part of the world. He was convinced that he was in India. For this reason, he called the natives who lived on these islands the Indians.

Columbus returned to the Americas three more times. Each time believing that he was in India. During his life, he never realized what he had discovered.

http://www.kidspast.com/world-history/0312-Christopher-Columbus.php

John Cabot

(1450?–99?). An Italian explorer sailing for England, John Cabot was the first European to reach the shores of North America after the Vikings. England later claimed all of North America on the ground that Cabot was the first explorer to reach the mainland.

The details of Cabot's life and voyages are a subject of debate among historians. It is believed that he was born Giovanni Caboto in Genoa, Italy, in about 1450. As a child he moved with his family to Venice, and he became a citizen of that city in 1476. During the 1470s he developed into a skilled navigator in travels to the eastern Mediterranean for a Venetian mercantile firm involved in the spice trade. Upon learning that the spices originated in the Far East, he came up with a plan for reaching Asia by sailing westward.

By the end of 1495 Cabot had moved to England. There, in the port city of Bristol, he won support for his plan among merchants who hoped for a direct link to the Asian markets. In 1496 Henry VII, the English king, authorized the trip even though he had earlier rejected a similar proposal by Christopher Columbus.

After a failed first attempt in 1496, Cabot sailed from Bristol in May 1497 with a crew of 18 on a small ship called the Matthew. His son Sebastian was probably among the crew. On June 24 he sighted the coast of North America and went ashore to claim the land for the English king. The site of his landfall is believed to have been in southern Labrador, Cape Breton Island, or Newfoundland (all now in Canada). He conducted explorations along the coastline before returning to England with news of his discovery in 1497.

The next year, 1498, Cabot set out on a second voyage with five ships and 200 men. He intended to sail down the coast he had found, which he believed to be the coast of China. He thus hoped to find Japan. Cabot did not return from this voyage. Some evidence suggests that he reached North America again, but he was probably lost at sea. (See also Americas, early exploration of the, “Cabot reaches Canada.”)

"Cabot, John." Compton's by Britannica. Britannica Online for Kids.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2011.

<http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9273435/John-Cabot>.

Juan Ponce de Leon: Explorer

Juan Ponce de Leon (1460?-1521) was a Spanish explorer and soldier who was the first European to set foot in Florida. He also established the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered the Gulf Stream (a current in the Atlantic Ocean). Ponce de Leon was searching for the legendary fountain of youth and other riches.

Born in Santervas, Spain, in 1460 (the date is uncertain), Ponce de Leon was a soldier fighting Muslims in southern Spain in the early 1490's. Ponce de Leon sailed on Christopher Columbus' second expedition to the Americas in 1493. Ponce de Leon did not return to Spain with Columbus; he stayed in Santo Domingo (now called the Dominican Republic).

He was appointed governor of the Dominican province of Higuey. He later heard of gold in the neighboring island of Borinquen (now called Puerto Rico) and brutally conquered the island, claiming it for Spain. He was then appointed governor of this island. Due to his extreme brutality to Native Americans, he was removed from office in 1511.

Ponce de Leon was then given the right to find and take the island of Bimini (in the Bahamas); he was searching for riches and the fountain of youth (a legendary spring that gave people eternal life and health). He sailed from Puerto Rico on March 3, 1513, with three ships, the Santa Maria, the Santiago, and the San Cristobal, and about 200 men. After stops at Grand Turk Island and San Salvador, they reached the east coast of Florida (St. Augustine) in April 1513. Ponce de Leon named the land "Pascua de Florida" (feast of flowers) because they first spotted land on April 2, 1513, Palm Sunday. He then claimed the land for Spain.

They left on April 8, heading south in the warm current now known as the Gulf Stream. This oceanic current would become very important for Spanish trips from Europe to America. On the return trip, a fight broke out between Ponce de Leon's men and Native Americans in southern Florida. They sailed to Cuba, then headed north, again trying to find Bimini (but instead, finding Andros Island).

After returning to Puerto Rico, Ponce de Leon resumed fighting with the Native Americans (putting down their rebellions against Spanish rule). He returned to Spain and was named a Captain General by the King of Spain on September 27, 1514, and again sailed to Puerto Rico to search for the elusive Bimini.

His last expedition was another search for Bimini in 1521. His force of 200 men landed on the west coast of Florida, but were met by Native American warriors, who wounded many of the men with arrows, including Ponce de Leon. Ponce de Leon later died in Havana, Cuba, from this wound (in July, 1521). He is buried in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/d/deleon.shtml

Hernan Cortes

The Spanish soldier Hernán Cortés conquered the great Aztec Empire in 1521. The conquest began 300 years of Spanish rule over Mexico.

Hernán Cortés (also called Hernando Cortez) was born in 1485 in Medellín, Spain. At age 19 he sailed for the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies. There he farmed and did legal work. In 1511 he helped Diego Velásquez conquer Cuba. Cortés became mayor of Santiago, the capital.

In 1518 Velásquez asked Cortés to start a colony in Mexico. While exploring the coast Cortés learned about the Aztec Empire. He landed at what is now Veracruz in April 1519. He burned his ships so his men could not turn back.

After defeating the Tlaxcaltec people in battle, Cortés made them his allies. The Tlaxcaltec and other tribes resented Aztec demands for sacrifices and treasure. On November 8, 1519, Cortés marched into the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City). The Aztec emperor Montezuma II welcomed Cortés because he thought he was a god of Aztec legend. Cortés quickly seized power.

Meanwhile, the jealous Velásquez sent a Spanish force against Cortés. Cortés defeated them, but while he was away the Aztec regrouped. They drove his forces back. Cortés then rejoined the Tlaxcaltec. He captured Tenochtitlán on August 13, 1521, ending the Aztec Empire.

The king of Spain made Cortés a nobleman. Cortés spent the 1530s in Mexico and explored Baja California in 1534–35. In 1540 he went back to Spain. He died there on December 2, 1547.

"Cortés, Hernán." Britannica Junior Encyclopedia. Britannica Online for Kids.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2011.

<http://kids.britannica.com/elementary/article-9353005/Hernan-Cortes>.

Jacques Cartier

Like many other European explorers, Jacques Cartier went to North America looking for gold, spices, and perhaps a shortcut to Asia. Instead he found the Saint Lawrence River, which became France's main route into Canada.

Jacques Cartier was born in 1491 in Brittany, a province of France. In about 1534, the king of France asked him to lead an expedition to North America.

In the spring of 1534 Cartier sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to what is now Canada. There he and his crew explored the land around the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and encountered Native Americans. When he sailed back to France, he took with him two Native Americans.

A second voyage came in May 1535. This time, Cartier sailed deeper into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and into the Saint Lawrence River, using the two Native Americans he had taken before as guides. About 260 miles (420 kilometers) inland, Cartier reached the Native American village of Stadacona. Today, the city of Quebec stands near that place.

Cartier and his men were among the first Europeans to winter in what is now Canada. The bitter cold surprised them, and some of the men died. After returning to France he reported tales told by the native people of treasures farther inland.

Cartier once again crossed the Atlantic in 1541. He explored further and found what he thought were gold and diamonds. When he returned to France in 1542, he was told that they were just common minerals. After his third voyage Cartier never returned to North America. He died near Saint-Malo, his birthplace, on September 1, 1557.

"Cartier, Jacques." Britannica Junior Encyclopedia. Britannica Online for Kids.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2011.

<http://kids.britannica.com/elementary/article-9399723/Jacques-Cartier>.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

(1510?–54). One of the strangest journeys ever made in search of gold was led by the Spaniard Francisco Coronado. His army of several hundred Spaniards, Indians, and slaves was accompanied by herds of cattle, pigs, and sheep. Instead of the cities filled with treasure that he expected to find in the wilderness north of Mexico, Coronado found only poor Indian villages. He did, however, establish Spain's later claim to land that now covers a huge portion of the United States. The claim stretched from what is now California into Oklahoma and Kansas.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado was born to a noble family of Salamanca, Spain, in about 1510. As a young man at court he became friendly with Antonio de Mendoza, one of the king's favorites. Mendoza was appointed viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) in 1535, and Coronado went with him to America. In Mexico City Coronado married wealthy Beatriz Estrada. In 1538 Mendoza appointed Coronado governor of New Galicia, a province in western Mexico.

Explorers brought back stories of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. Mendoza made Coronado the commander of an expedition to seize the treasure. Coronado led his party from Culiacán, a northern outpost of New Galicia, in April 1540. The expedition came upon the first of the promised seven cities in July. The golden cities of Cibola were actually the Indian pueblos of present-day Zuñi in western New Mexico. From here Coronado sent out scouting parties. One discovered the Grand Canyon. Another found more pueblos in a fertile area of the Rio Grande valley.

Here the expedition spent the winter. New hope came when an Indian slave told of a new land to the northeast whose capital, Quivira, was very rich. With 30 men and the slave as guide, Coronado set forth. After months they found Quivira in what is now central Kansas. It held only Indian tepees. The slave confessed he had invented the story and was executed. Coronado returned to the Rio Grande.

After spending a second winter in the pueblos, the expedition started homeward. The tattered army followed a route over deserts and mountains in blazing summer heat. In the fall of 1542 Coronado led only about 100 men into Mexico City. The remaining survivors trailed in during the next months. In 1544, during an official inquiry, Coronado was charged with corruption and negligence and removed as governor of New Galicia. He returned to Mexico City, where he retained his post as an alderman until he died on Sept. 22, 1554.

"Coronado, Francisco." Compton's by Britannica. Britannica Online for Kids.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2011.

<http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9273816/Francisco-Coronado>.

Henry Hudson

1565?–1611). Because of the thriving trade in spices and silk between Asia and Europe, Henry Hudson and other explorers made a number of difficult and dangerous voyages searching for a northeast or northwest passage. Such a passage would provide a shorter, quicker way to the Pacific. Explorers sought a shortcut northward from the east coast of Europe and thence either eastward over the top of Europe and Asia or westward over the top of North America. Hudson tried both routes. Although he did not succeed, his four voyages added greatly to knowledge of the Arctic and North America.

Little is known of Hudson before 1607, when he undertook the first of two voyages for the English Muscovy Company. He sailed to Greenland and searched vainly for a passage through the polar ice barrier around the Svalbard archipelago. On a second voyage, in 1608, Hudson reached Novaya Zemlya, islands north of Russia, but again he was turned back by ice.

The next year, in command of the Half Moon for the Dutch East India Company, Hudson sailed to North America. He explored the inlets southward along the coast to southern Virginia, probing for a passage across the continent. He then turned northward and entered the Hudson River, which is now named after him. He sailed upstream to the vicinity of what is now Albany, N.Y.

A group of Englishmen backed Hudson's fourth voyage in 1610–11. With the Discovery and a crew of 25 men, Hudson sailed into what is now Hudson Bay and explored the east coast to its southernmost reach in James Bay. After a winter caught in the ice, the Discovery sailed northward. Again it was icebound. Most of the crew mutinied. On June 22, 1611, Hudson, his son, and seven sick men were forced into a small boat and left to freeze or starve. The mutineers headed home, but several of their leaders were killed by Eskimos. The rest reached England, where they were tried for mutiny but found not guilty.

"Hudson, Henry." Compton's by Britannica. Britannica Online for Kids.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2011.

<http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9274968/Henry-Hudson>.

Robert de La Salle

(1643-1687) was a French explorer. He was sent by King Louis XIV (14) to travel south from Canada and sail down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first European to travel the length of the Mississippi River (1682). His mission was to explore and establish fur-trade routes along the river. La Salle named the entire Mississippi basin Louisiana, in honor of the King, and claimed it for France on April 9, 1682. He also explored Lake Michigan (1679), Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. He tried to start a settlement in the southern Mississippi River Valley, but the venture ended in disaster.

La Salle traveled from France to Quebec, New France (Canada), in late 1667. He was determined to find a water passage to the east through North America. Leaving Montreal in July, 1669, La Salle crossed Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and other places which are not documented (he did not return to Montreal until late 1670, and may have traveled down the Ohio or Mississippi River). La Salle made many exploring trips during the years 1671 to 1673.

La Salle returned to France in 1677, getting permission from the King to explore the area between Florida, Mexico and New France (Canada). He returned to Canada in 1678 with his friend, Henri de Tonty, and others.

In Canada, they constructed a fort on the Niagara River (between Ontario and New York) and built a ship called the Griffon, which they used to explore the Great Lakes. They sailed on August 7, 1679, traveling across Lake Erie and Lake Huron. They traveled across land to Lake Michigan, which they paddled across in canoes. Returning, they discovered that the Griffon was lost, the fort at Niagara had burned down, and many men had deserted their posts, robbing supply stores.

On a 1681 expedition, La Salle and about 40 men again headed to the Mississippi River. They reached the Mississippi River on February 6, 1682, then headed down it in canoes. They built Fort Prud'homme at what is now Memphis, Tennessee, and later reached the Gulf of Mexico on April 9, 1682, where they built a cross. They claimed all the land along the Mississippi River for France. Their return to New France was beset by illness and Indian attacks.

La Salle returned to France in 1683, but sailed to the New World again in 1684 with four ships, intending to start a colony in the Mississippi River Valley (the king actually wanted him to travel to the Rio Grande to take over Spanish mines, but La Salle lied and told him that the Mississippi was farther north than it is). The expedition lost a vital supply ship en route, and mistakenly landed in Matagorda Bay, near what is now Houston, Texas, where one ship ran aground. La Salle's men shot Indians who took supplies from the wrecked ship, making enemies of the local Indians. One ship returned to France with a disgruntled crew.

The French expedition built a fort at the mouth of the Lavaca River, and explored the area. The last remaining ship was wrecked by a drunken pilot in April 1686, stranding the French in Texas. The 20 men traveled up the Lavaca River, trying to locate the Mississippi River so they could follow it north into the French missions in the Great Lakes region. Most of the men in this expedition died, and the 8 survivors returned to the fort in October, 1686. On a second try, La Salle and 17 others set out (25 people remained at the fort); in a few months, a group of five mutineers shot and killed La Salle (near Navasota, Texas) on March 19, 1687. They left his body for the animals to eat. The rest of the expedition made it to Montreal in 1688, but those at the fort were killed by the Karankawa Indians.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/l/lasalle.shtml

Exploration Report Instructions

1. Read your article and make a summary of it using the technique we practiced in class.a. Read the entire article once.b. Read the first paragraph again.c. Pick 3 – 5 important words for that paragraph by highlighting them or underlining them. (Names,

places, and time periods can be considered one word.)d. Use those words to come up with 1 – 2 sentences about that paragraph.e. Continue steps b thru d for all the other paragraphs.

2. Answer the interview questions for your explorer. The information can be found in the blue History Alive book. You will present/perform this, so you may want to write a script and ask a friend in class to be the interviewer.

3. Create or find a visual of your explorer. This can be as creative as you want it to be. It can be a picture from the internet, a painting, a drawing, a clay sculpture, etc.

4. NEATNESS COUNTS!5. Students can type their reports, but I require them to hand in a handwritten copy as well.

Interview Questions

1. What was your background before you became an explorer? (Were you a soldier, sailor, merchant, or nobleman?)

2. Who sponsored your trip? (Who gave you the money and ships?)3. What motivated you to sail across the Atlantic Ocean? (Why did you sail across the Atlantic Ocean in

the first place?)4. What impact (effect) did your expedition have on others? (Did you find anything, hurt anyone, or

create something? Be specific.)

Rubric (Scoring Guide)

Summary – 20 points

Interview – 20 points

Visual – 10 points

Total – 50 points