2. Gil Eannes Portugal 1433 AD Sailed South
along West
coast of Africa,
past Cape
Bojador
Explored mouth of
Diogo Cam Portugal 1482-1486 AD Congo R. and
explored part of
coast of West
Africa
3. Bartolomeu Dias Portugal 1488 AD Explored Algoa
and Mossel bays
in South
Africa, observing
and naming Cape
of Storms, later
renamed Cape of
Good Hope
Vasco da Gama Portugal 1497-1498 AD Sailed around
Cape of Good
Hope to Malindi
on East coast of
Africa, and then
across Indian
Ocean to
Calicut, India
4. Alonso de Ojeda Spain 1499-1500 AD Explored North
coast of South
America
Vicente Yáñex Spain 1499-1500 AD Sailed from Spain,
Pinzón touched coast of
Brazil not far from
Recife, visited
mouth of Amazon
R., and then
proceeded North
as far as Guiana.
5. Pedro Álvares Portugal 1500 AD Touched coast of
Cabral Brazil and
rounded Cape of
Good Hope
Gaspar Corte-Real Portugal 1501 AD Explored North
East coast of New
France and
Newfoundland
6. Rodrigo de Spain 1501 AD Explored Central
Bastidas America.
Juan Ponce de
León Spain 1513 AD Explored and
named Florida
7. Vasco Núñez de Spain 1513 AD Explored Isthmus
Balboa of Panama and
named Pacific
Ocean
Explored estuary of
Río de la Plata,
sailed South,
proceeding through
strait which bears
Ferdinand
his name, and
Magellan Portugal 1519-1521 AD traversed Pacific
Ocean to Philippine
Islands, where he
was killed. He was
first person to sail W
around the globe to
a longitude
previously reached
on an East voyage
8. Juan Sebastián del Spain 1519-1522 AD A commander in
Cano Magellan's
expedition. After
Magellan's death,
del Cano, in
command of
Victoria, the
expedition's sole
surviving ship,
returned to Spain by
way of Moluccas
and Cape of Good
Hope, thus being
first to
circumnavigate the
globe
9. Hernán Cortés Spain 1519-1536 AD Explored East
coasts of Mexico
and Yucatán,
conquered
Mexico, and
explored Baja
California
Francisco Pizarro Spain 1523-1535 AD Explored West
coast of South
America and
conquered Peru
10. Álvar Núñez Spain 1527-1542 AD Explored South
Cabeza de Vaca West region of
what is now U.S.
Headed an
expedition to the
Río de la Plata
region, and then
across South
Brazil to
Asunción,
Paraguay
Hernando de Soto
Spain 1539-1542 AD Explored what is
now South East
United States and
part of lower
Mississippi Valley
11. Hernando de Spain 1540 AD Explored the
Alarcón Colorado R
Traced Colorado
R. northward, and
Francisco Spain 1540-1542 AD sighted Grand
Vásquez de Canyon; explored
Coronado South California,
New Mexico, N
orth Arizona,
North Texas,
Oklahoma, and
East Kansas
12. Pedro de Valdivia Spain 1540-1542 AD Explored Chile
Francisco de Spain 1541-1542 AD Traced Amazon
Orellana R., from its upper
reaches in Andes
to its outlet in the
Atlantic Ocea
13. Juan Rodríguez Portugal 1542-1543 AD Explored West
Cabrillo coast of Mexico
and landed at
Point Loma,
Caliph
Pedro Fernandes Portugal 1596-1606 AD Explored
de Queirós Marquesas and
Solomon Islands
of Pacific Ocean
14. Sebastián Spain 1596-1603 AD Explored West
Vizcaíno coast of Mexico
between Acapulco
and Baja
California; sailed
to San Diego and
Monterey bays
