| A | B |
|---|
| Juan Ponce de Leon | Spanish explorer who was looking for the Fountain of Youth, but discovered Florida |
| Americgo Vespucci | our country is named for this explorer who realized he had not reached the Indies, but instead realized he landed on a new continent |
| John Cabot | a Italian explorer who wanted to find a shorter route to the East; first to go ashore in North America and named the land "New Found Land" |
| Christopher Columbus | In 1492, he was the first to try to sail west to reach the east; he is celebrated for having "discovered" America |
| Samuel de Champlain | French explorer who came to "New France" and established a fort and built a settlement called Quebec; he explored the Great Lakes looking for a route to China |
| Vasco Nunez de Balboa | Spanish stowaway; the first European to see the Pacific Ocean; walked through swamps and jungles in Panama to reach what is now known as the South Seas |
| Jacques Cartier | sailed along the east coast of N. America and explored the St. Lawrence River. He claimed the area for France, named it "New France" and is today called Canada |
| Sir Francis Drake | First Englishman to circumnavigate the Earth, became known for being a pirate, knighted by the Queen of England, |
| Ferdinand Magellan | first to circumnavigate the Earth, he named the Pacific Ocean; was killed in the Phillipines |
| Henry Hudson | Englishman who explored much of North America looking for the Northwest Passage ; explored the waterways in New York and has a river and bay named after him; his crew mutinied him and his son, put them on a small boat leaving them to die |
| conquistador | means conqueror in Spanish |
| captain | highest ranking official on a ship |
| trade | to buy and sell goods with another country |
| circumnavigate | to sail around the world |
| Northwest Passage | a hoped for waterway that crossed through North America (a quicker water route to Asia) |
| Spain, England, France | countries that land was claimed for |
| riches explorers hoped to find | gold, silk, spices |
| Vikings | first explorers |
| Explorers' main goal | to sail west to get to Asia |
