Sir Walter Reigh

Sir Walter Raleigh
• Nationality - English
• Lifespan - 1552 - 1618
• The Discovery of Guiana and establishing the Virginia colony of Roanoke Island in 1584
• Chivalry - He is reputed to have placed his cloak over a puddle in order to prevent Queen Elizabeth I from muddying her shoes
Unfortunately he was beheaded by the English for attacking a spanish fort

Sir Francis Drake

sir Francis drake
• Nationality - English
• Lifespan - 1540 - 1596
• Navigator of a small merchant ship in the 1550's
• Officer on West African slave ships
• Sailed to the Caribbean with his cousin John Hawkins
• Francis Drake was the first to pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast of South America
• Sailed round the World in the ship called the Golden Hind
• Appointed Vice Admiral of the navy that destroyed the Spanish Armada
• Famous as a seaman, explorer and a pirate, sailing around the World, raiding the Spanish and helping to defeat the Spanish Armada.

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus is a very well know explorer for his feat of discovering the now called America. He was born in Italy, but lived in both Portugal and Spain, and patrons King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. He lived from 1451 to 1506, and was from a family impoverished family. His dad was a wool trader, and had 5 children. Christopher Columbus spent his early years traveling around. He went to Iceland when he was 16, and later sailed the seas as a pirate. His ship was sunk in a battle, so he swam back to shore and found his brother who was working as a cartographer in Lisbon. Christopher Columbus went and pleaded the King of France, the king of Britain and the King of Portugal, but they all denied. The only king who accepted his offer was King Ferdinand, and that was because a priest pleaded him and said that he could convert the people there to Christians. In 1492, Christopher Columbus leaves in search of the Indies. He leaves on 3 ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, which was the ship Columbus boarded. They sailed west, and the first sight of land they saw was the island they called San Salvador, which was an island in the Bahamas. Christopher thought this was the Passage to china. Then, they sailed to Cuba, and the coast of Hispaniola. Christopher Columbus's ship sunk there, and he established the first settlement. In 1492, he returned to spain.

Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan is the famous Portuguese explorer who was the first to sail around the world. He lived from 1480 to 1506. He was from a wealthy family with a father who was a mayor of 2 cities. He became interested in navigation and exploration from one of his teachers, Martin Behaim. He studied Christopher Columbus's maps, and joined an expedition to India in the early years. After that, he went on a Portuguese expedition to Morocco, where he was badly injured. On the ship, he had a disagreement with the commanding officer, and left his service without prior permission. When he got back, he tried to persuade the Portuguese court to fund him on an expedition to the spice lands because of his bad behavior on the Morocco trip, so he renounced his nationality and went to Spain, were he persuaded King Charles to fund him. The Spanish government provided him with 5 ships, the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago. Magellan only commanded the Trinidad, while other captains commanded the other ships. On the expedition, Magellan sailed across the Atlantic, South America, Rio De Janeirio, and started looking for a way to the Pacific. He found the Magellan Strait(to be called), and became the first to sail the Pacific. He reached the equator, Guam, and discovered the Philippines. His journey for him ends there, where he was killed by the natives in the Island of Mactan. They returned back to pain the same way, but failed and were imprisoned by the Portuguese. When they finally returned, only 18 people and 1 ship survived. This trip took a total of 3 years and 243 lives.

Vasco Da Gamma

Vasco Da Gamma(or Vasco De Gamma) is a Portuguese explorer who took on the quest of finding a trade route to the east and succeeded. He was born in 1469, and lived till 1524. He was born in a family where his dad was both a noble and a courtier. In 1492, he was sent to Lisbon by the order of the king to settle a retaliation of French ships, and 2 years after that, he was sent on his expedition for a sea rout to the east. He went with 4 ships, the Sao Gabriel, Sao Rafael, The Berrio and a store ship. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, the Cost of Natal and the mouth of the Zambezi before the finally reached their destination: India. This voyage took him 1 year, and he returned to Portugal. He was made Admiral of the Indian Ocean in 1499 when he returned, and in 1502, he was sent on another expedition to India, where he returned 1503. He was then made count, and then the Portuguese Viceroy in India. He died in India December 24, 1524, and had his remains shipped back to Portugal where he was buried in Vidigueira.

The routes of Magellan, Columbus and Vesco de Gamma

Legend.
Green: Columbus
Black: Magellan
REd: Gamma

The Age Of Discovery. A brief Intro.

The Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration.Is a period of history starting around the 15th cetury to 17th century in which the Europeans navigated the world and mapped unexplored areas. During this period,European countries discovered new trade routes and conquered new lands. This era of history is incredibly important for it gave the western world knowledge of other lands and contributed in creating the world we have today.