Explorers

At the beginning of the late 1400s, multiple European nations began to hire explorers to sponsor many voyages and expeditions across the ocean. This is the time in history known as "The Age of Exploration / Discovery. However, the term Encounter would be more fitting since most of the lands the Europeans reached were already settled.

Below you will find where the Explorers "discovered" their land. This would include their routes and two facts about them.

" Dias sailed with the da Gama expedition as far as the Cape Verde Islands and then returned to Guinea. Da Gama’s ships reached their goal of India in May 1498, nearly a decade after Dias’ historic trip around the tip of Africa. " History states. However, he did not “discover” the so-called New World. There were already Native Americans living there, and a Viking named Leif Eriksson had visited the Americas 5 centuries earlier. Later, Dias captained not one, but four ships on the expedition sent by Manuel to India. On May 29, 1500, Dias died at the age of 50 years.

"The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he stumbled upon the Americas. Though he did not “discover” the so-called New World—millions of people already lived there—his journeys marked the beginning of centuries of exploration and colonization of North and South America." History states. The land that he had claimed already had its own indigenous called Lucayan people and was named Guanahani, but he renamed is as San Salvador. Columbus took several Lucayans as slaves, and subsequent colonizers continued the practice. In less than 30 years, through enslavement, murder, and disease, the Lucayan people were essentially wiped out of existence.

"In the mistaken belief that he had reached the northeast coast of Asia, Cabot returned to Bristol on August 6, 1497. He reported that the land was excellent, the climate temperate, and the sea covered with enough fish to end England’s dependence on Iceland’s fish. In the midst of an enthusiastic welcome, he announced his plans to return to his landing place and from there sail westward until he came to Japan, the reputed source of spices and gems." Britannica states. This helped the trade between Japan and England. This gave England many spices they had not had before Japan also traded items including, but not limited to, pottery, swords, and other assorted metals, and iron works, textiles, charcoal, silver, and gold. These items were commonly traded overseas in exchange for England's raw wool and furs, and manufactured goods like lumber, rice, tobacco, and dried fish.

"In 1540, Coronado led a major Spanish expedition up Mexico’s western coast and into the region that is now the southwestern United States. Though the explorers found none of the storied treasure, they did discover the Grand Canyon and other major physical landmarks of the region and clashed violently with local Indians. With his expedition labeled a failure by Spanish colonial authorities, Coronado returned to Mexico, where he died in 1554." History states. He heard this myth while he was governor of New Spain (Mexico). Vázquez de Coronado was born into a noble family in Salamanca, Spain. While Coronado was governor, he heard of the fabled "Seven Golden Cities". Wanting the fame from discovering it, and the riches he'd obtain from it, Coronado sets off on his expedition to find it.

"In August 1642 Abel Tasman set sail from Batavia with two ships, the Zeehaen and the Heemskerck. His expedition would lead to the first European contacts with the people of present-day New Zealand and Tonga and the discovery of Tasmania, south of Australia." Atlas of Mutual Heritage states.  he was supposed to sail much further south than had been attempted before and to explore eastwards. The VOC wanted to know the size and extent of the so-called Terra Australis, a massive continent rich in resources that was presumed to exist somewhere south and east of the known Indies archipelago. Contemporary maps showed patches of what we now know as the north and west coast of Australia. However, at the time, it was unclear if these patches actually belonged to the presumed continent of Terra Australis, which was imagined to be much larger than Australia. As was usual for the time, the VOC was looking for opportunities to acquire gold and silver and to establish new trade routes. VOC stands for Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, which is the Dutch name for the United East India Company, or the Dutch East India Company.