1. EXPLORERS CHART

2. Marco Polo
ITALY
Explorer, merchant, and author of the book Travels, which explains his exploration of China.

3. First to the southern tip of Africa
Bartolomeu Dias
PORTUGAL
First to the southern tip of Africa

4. Finds first direct sea route to Asia
Vasco De Gama
PORTUGAL
Finds first direct sea route to Asia

5. LEIF ERICSON
VIKING
First European to step foot in the Americas. (500 years before Colombus)

6. Christopher Columbus SPAIN
“Discovers” the New World, but never believes it. Caused the Columbian Exchange.

7. Creates new map depicting the “Americas”
Amerigo Vespucci
ITALY
Creates new map depicting the “Americas”

8. Ferdinand Magellan SPAIN
First to circumnavigate the globe. Finds Magellan Strait and names Pacific Ocean.

9. Conquers the Aztec Empire
Hernan Cortes
SPAIN
Conquers the Aztec Empire

10. Conquers the Inca Empire
Francisco Pizarro
SPAIN
Conquers the Inca Empire

11. Names Florida, first to step foot in modern America
Juan Ponce de Leon
SPAIN
Names Florida, first to step foot in modern America

12. Founder of “New France”
Samuel de Champlain
FRANCE
Founder of “New France”

13. Founder of “New Amsterdam”
Henry Hudson
DUTCH
Founder of “New Amsterdam”