2.2 | Key European Explorers and Their Impact

As European nations began exploring, several key explorers played a major role in discovering and claiming new lands.

1. Portugal: Prince Henry, Dias, and da Gama

• Prince Henry the Navigator: Funded exploration schools and voyages along Africa’s coast.

• Bartolomeu Dias (1488): First European to reach the southern tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope).

• Vasco da Gama (1498): First European to reach India by sea, creating a direct trade route.

2. Spain: Columbus, Magellan, and Conquistadors

• Christopher Columbus (1492):

  • Sponsored by Spain’s Ferdinand and Isabella to find a new route to Asia.

  • Landed in the Caribbean (Bahamas) but thought he was in India.

  • His voyage opened the Americas to European colonization.

• Ferdinand Magellan (1519-1522):

  • the first person to sail all the way around the world, but he didn't finish the journey because he died.

• Hernán Cortés (1519):

  • Conquered the Aztec Empire (Mexico) with the help of superior weapons and alliances.

• Francisco Pizarro (1532):

  • Conquered the Inca Empire (Peru) by capturing the emperor Atahualpa.

3. England, France,U and the Netherlands

• John Cabot (England, 1497): Claimed Newfoundland for England.

• Jacques Cartier (France, 1534): Explored the St. Lawrence River (Canada).

• Henry Hudson (Dutch & English, early 1600s): Explored the Hudson River and Hudson Bay.

Big Idea:

European explorers claimed new lands, set up trade routes, and began the colonization of the Americas, which would change history forever.