#09- Bartholomeu Dias

09 Bartholomeu Dias

Bartholomeu Dias (c.1450-1499) was a Portuguese explorer who came from the family of Joao Dias, who sailed around Cape Bojador, and Diniz Dias, who discovered the Cape Verde Islands. In 1481, Bartholomeu joined Diego d'Azambuja to explore the Gold Coast of Africa. In 1486, King John II of Portugal appointed Dias to lead an expedition to find the southern tip of Africa and try to make contact with Prester John, the legendary Christian ruler of the East. With three ships, Dias sailed down the coast of Africa. During a storm, Dias passed around the southern tip of Africa and named it the Stormy Cape.Though Dias went back to Portugal soon after he went around the Stormy Cape, the information he brought home brought hope to many explorers, and the cape was later named the Cape of Good Hope. His charts helped explorers like Pedro Cabral and Vasco da Gama find their way to India. Dias will be remembered as the explorer who found the tip of Africa, gave explorers hope of finding a passage to India, and pushing Portugal into the front of the Age of Exploration. Although Dias did find the way to India, he never made it there. He sailed with Pedro Cabral on a trip to India, but drowned in a storm at the very cape that he had discovered.

Information from...
www.elizabethan-era.org.uk

#10- James Cook

10 James Cook

James Cook (1728-1779) was an English explorer and navigator who started sailing at age 27. In 1768, Cook was appointed to lead an expedition to Tahiti to establish an observatory. The observatory was used to measure the eclipse of the sun by Venus. After this successful mission, Cook was sent to seek out the great southern continent, but determined that there was none. Cook was the first man to set foot on New Zealand, although it was sighted by Abel Tasman in 1642. In 1770, Cook explored the East and North coast of New Holland (Australia) and claimed the land for Great Britain. On Cook's second circumnavigation, Cook circled Antartica, but ice kept his ship, Resolution, from landing. Upon his return from this trip, he was promoted to Captain and was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society. Once again, Cook went on a voyage. This time, Cook searched for the Northwest passage. After making it to the Hawaiian Islands, Cook went to the coast of North America and worked his way up to the Bering Strait, but because of the amount of ice, Cook was forced to turn back to Hawaii. On Febuary 14, 1779, Cook was stabbed to death by Hawaiian natives on Febuary 14, 1779 after trying to arrest their cheif. Cook is one of the Top 10 explorers for discovering the Hawaiian islands, for landing on New Zealand, and for the three trips around the world that he made.

Information from...
http://www.lucidcafe.com/

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#11- Leif Erikson

11 Leif Erikson



In 986, the Viking, Eirik Thorvaldsson, or Erik the Red, discovered and colinized Greenland. This Viking had a son named Leif Erikson(c. 960- c.1020). As a young man, Erikson went to Norway and worked for the king there. After coming back to Greenland, Erikson sailed West, probably in search of the land that the Viking, Bjarni Harjulfsson had passed by and described as hilly and heavily forrested. Harjulfsson never landed in America, saying that it was a useless land. Around the year 1000, Erikson made it to America, about 500 years before Colombus. He found three islands, naming the smaller two Heeluland and Markland. The third and largest island, he named Vineland because he thought that the berries that grew there were grapes. This island is probably Newfoundland. After a winter on Vineland, Erikson returned. Some Vikings came back to Vineland later on to form a settlement, but the hostility between the Vikings and the Native Americans led to the failure of the colony. Erikson earned his place in history for being the first European to set foot on in the New World.

Information from...
http://www.mnc.net/norway/LeifErikson.htm

#12- Francisco Pizarro

12 Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro (1475-1541) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer. In 1513, Pizarro joined the expedition of Nunez de Balboa across Panama, where they found the Pacific. In 1532, after two small trips along the western coast of South America, Pizarro made one last time with 200 men, including Hernando de Soto. On November 15, 1532, Pizarro found Cajamarca, an Incan city, and kidnapped the Incan emperor, Atuallpa, soon afterwards. After a giant ransom of gold was paid for Atuallpa's release, Pizarro had the emperor strangled. In 1535, Pizarro destroyed Cuzco, the Incan capital. After having his angry men build him a palace, a group of his men assassinated him in 1541. Pizarro will always be known as the explorer who discovered and destroyed the great empire of the Inca, and for claiming all this land for Spain.

Information from...
www.carpenoctem.tv/military/pizarro.html

#13- Sir Francis Drake

13 Sir Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) was a British explorer and privateer under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I. Drake was the first explorer after Magellan to sail around the world. He went below South America, like Magellan, but once he got to the Pacific, Drake went up the coast of America, and made it at least all the way to California before crossing the Pacific. After landing in Indonesia, Drake made his way past the Cape of Good Hope to England. Upon his return, Drake was rewarded with 10000 pounds. As a privateer, Drake helped England defeat the Spanish Armada, a fleet of 130 ships and 30000 Spanish men. Although many say that Drake is famous for being the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world, Drake makes our list for exploring the Western coast of America and for helping to defeat the Spanish Armada.

Information from...
http://www.library.thinkquest.org/

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