Amerigo Vespucci

Amerigo_Vespucci-statue

Born: Mar 9, 1454 in Florence, Republic of Florence, in present-day Italy
Died: Feb 22, 1512 (at age 57) in Seville, Crown of Castile, in present-day Spain
Nationality: Italian, Florentine
Occupation: Merchant, explorer, cartographer

Born on March 9th, 1454 in Florence, Italy, Amerigo Vespucci was a prominent Italian explorer, cartographer, merchant, navigator and financier. He is famous for coining the term the “New World.” This supercontinent was eventually named by Martin Waldseemuller “America,” which is a feminized Latin version of his Amerigo.

Waldseemuller’s new world map, created in 1507, was based on Vespucci’s expeditions. It was the first map to accurately depict a separate Western Hemisphere and the Pacific Ocean as a new ocean. He remains in the history of the world as being the first cartographer to demonstrate that the New World was not the eastern outskirts of the continent Asia.

Early Years

The Florentine born explorer was educated by Fra Giorgio Vespucci, who was his uncle and a Dominican friar of San Marco convent in Florence. He started working as a clerk for the Medici Bank bank in Europe during the Renaissance period. In 1492, Amerigo Vespucci was sent to Cadiz, Spain as a confidential agent to observe the Medici branch office. In 1495 he worked for Giannotto Berardi who had a contract with the Crown of Castile to provide vessels for navigators travelling in the West Indies. Amerigo Vespucci further worked as a provision contractor for the expeditions in the Indies, including for the historic voyages of Christopher Columbus.

Voyages

Between 1497 and 1504, the famous Italian explorer made four voyages from Spain to the New World, the first alleged voyage lasted from May, 1497, until October, 1498. Europe became acquainted with the results of his groundbreaking expeditions after the publication of two letters which were both attributed to Amerigo Vespucci. While there are four voyages mentioned in the first series, only two are mentioned in the second series of letters.

The second and third voyages are considered to be true by historians, as they were corroborated in his other manuscript letters. Meanwhile, the first and the forth are deemed as fabricated by Florentine publishers, by putting together various accounts. Vespucci’s second voyage, in the service of Spain, resulted in the discovery of the Amazon River, the Orinoco River and Trinidad. According to the letter, Vespucci, who was also a cartographer, managed to determine his longitude celestially. He did this by charting stars on the horizon. The third voyage, in the service of Portugal, was led by Portuguese explorer Goncalo Coelho between 1501 and 1502 and resulted in reaching the latitude of Patagonia, according to Vespucci s own account. He also mapped the constellation Crux as well as Alpha and Beta Centauri after this expedition. The uncertain fourth voyage is said to have taken place between 1503 and 1504. Official Portuguese documents confirm a voyage to Brazil by the same Goncalo Coelho, but do not mention Vespucci’s presence aboard.

In 1508, the Italian explorer was appointed by King Ferdinand chief navigator of Spain and he was responsible with planning navigation for various voyages to the West Indies. Amerigo Vespucci passed away of an unknown cause on February 22nd, 1512 in Seville, Crown of Castile in Spain.

August 30, 2013 at 11:49 pm | No comment

Bartolomeu Dias

Bartolomeu-Dias

Born: c. 1451 in Algarve, Kingdom of Portugal
Died: May 29, 1500 (at age 48-49) in Cape of Good Hope
Nationality: Portuguese
Occupation: Navigator and explorer
Famous For: First European to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa

Bartolomeu Dias was a Portuguese explorer. He was the first man to have sailed around the Cape of Good Hope. Dias did not set out on the journeys which made him famous until he was in his thirties.

Voyage to the Cape

All that is known about Dias’s life before his time as an explorer is that he was in charge of some of King João II’s warehouses. Also, he had only made a single voyage aboard a warship. Sometime in 1486, however, the king tasked him with leading an expedition to discover a route to India by sea. With a small fleet of three ships, Dias set sail in August of the following year. The party at first followed the route discovered a few years earlier by Diogo Cão, which ended at what is now Namibia.

After having stopped at several African ports with gifts of precious metals and assurances of friendship toward the native peoples, Dias’s ships were blown out to sea by a storm. However, he had been given a Venetian map by the king that showed that the Indian Ocean lay to the east of Africa, and this encouraged him to turn south. As the party was heading into entirely unknown territory, Dias was effectively betting his men’s lives on the course change. Yet, in February, 1488, land was sighted.

The Southern Tip of Africa

Landfall was a few hundred miles east from the Cape, but there was little time to explore as tribesmen attacked with stones. Eventually, one of Dias’s men killed a tribesman, after which resistance ceased. Though Dias wanted to push on along the coastline, their food was running out, and the threat of mutiny hung in the air. Eventually, an agreement was reached that a maximum three more days of sailing would be allowed. This brought them to Kwaaihoek in the Eastern Cape, which proved to be the eastern extent of their travels.

During the return journey, Dias saw the extreme southernmost tip of Africa. He named it the Cape of Storms. He chose the name for the treacherous mixture of strong currents and frequent storms that combined in the area. Upon arriving home, large crowds greeted the explorers when they got to Lisbon.

Aftermath

Despite Dias’s achievements, the king was unhappy that he had not managed to find Pêro da Covilhã, a secret agent stationed in India. He commanded that the cape the explorer had named should instead be referred to as the Cape of Good Hope. Dias himself, now out of favor, lived for a while in the Portuguese trading center of Guinea. After this, the new king, Manuel I, sent him to oversee the shipbuilding for Vasco da Gama’s expedition. Dias accompanied da Gama as far as Cape Verde, and then returned to Guinea.

After the success of da Gama’s voyage, Manuel assembled a large fleet and sent it to India under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Dias himself was put in charge of four ships, which traveled first to Brazil, reaching it in March 1500. From there, a course was set for South Africa and then India. Dias, however, was never to see the land he had tried for so long to reach. In May, as the ships rounded the Cape, four of the 13 ships were sunk in a storm, with Dias among those who drowned.

August 26, 2013 at 9:15 pm | No comment

Captain James Cook

Captain-james-cook

Born: Nov 7 (O.S. Oct 27) 1728, in Marton, (in present-day Middlesbrough) Yorkshire, England
Died: Feb 14, 1779 (at age 50) in Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii
Nationality: British
Occupation: Explorer, navigator, cartographer, Royal Navy Captain

James Cook was born on November 7th, 1728 in the village of Marton in Yorkshire, England. He had 7 other siblings and was part of a farming family. When a job opportunity came up for his father, Cook and his family moved to Great Ayton. After attending school for five years that his father’s boss paid for, he started helping out on the farm. He continued to help on the farm throughout most of his childhood until he turned 16 years old. At this time he was able to get an apprenticeship in a shop in the village of Staithes, which was 20 miles away from his home.

Finding that shop work was not for him, Cook decided to move to Whitby after over a year in Staithes. Upon arrival he met friends of the shop owner he had been apprenticing for, and they allowed him to work on their ships which were used for coal trade. He was an apprentice for three years, and during this time he learned everything necessary to command his own ship.

Royal Navy

After passing exams to become a ship captain in 1752, Cook decided to volunteer for the Royal Navy in order to progress his career. On June 7th, 1755 Cook became a master’s mate and sailed on the HMS Eagle. He helped capture French warships and eventually was able to briefly command The Cruizer in 1756. Cook wanted to become a ship master, so he took his exams in 1757 and passed. From here he was the master to Captain Robert Craig on the HMS Solebay.

Cook’s biggest asset was that he was good at surveying and cartography. These skills were greatly used during the Seven Years’ War and led him to help plan many famous attacks. In 1760 Cook helped map the coast of Newfoundland and eventually made the first large-scale map of the coast. These skills led him to get attention from the Royal Society and Admiralty, which led to his maps being copied and provided to captains for the next 200 years.

First Voyage

The first exploration that Cook went on was in 1766. It was commissioned by the Royal Society to determine the way Venus traveled across the sun. He was the lieutenant of this expedition and led it to Tahiti where they were able to see “the small disc travel across the sun.” The second part of the voyage was to look for the continent Terra Australis. In April, 1770, he observed indigenous Australians and then eventually landed in an area that he called “Stingray Bay.” Here he met the Gweagal, an Aboriginal tribe, and then left in the Endeavour with his crew.

Soon after leaving the ship hit the Great Barrier Reef, which caused damage that took around seven weeks to repair. From here they landed on Possession Island before returning to England on July 12th, 1771.

Second Voyage

After being promoted to commander, Cook was commissioned to command the HMS Resolution. During this voyage he was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. He also was able to log his longitudinal position, which helped him make accurate charts of the Pacific Ocean.

Third Voyage

Cook’s last voyage took place on the HMS Resolution, which Cook commanded. During this voyage Cook was the first European to land on the Hawaiian Islands. He then went to California and Oregon and sailed to Nootka Sound. After staying here for a few months, Cook returned back to Hawaii for a month. Unfortunately he had to return back to Kealakekua Bay for repairs to his boats, but the Hawaiians no longer wanted him there. After a fight broke out, Cook was killed on February 14th, 1779. His remains were brought back to Europe for a burial at sea.

August 22, 2013 at 12:06 am | No comment

Christopher Columbus

Christopher_Columbus

Born: before Oct 31, 1451 in Genoa, Republic of Genoa, in present-day Italy
Died: May 20, 1506 (at age c.54) in Valladolid, Crown of Castile, in present-day Spain
Nationality: Italian
Occupation: Maritime explorer
Famous For: Traveling the American continents

Christopher Columbus was a famous explorer who is often mistakenly credited for discovering America. Although he was not the first, the voyages of Christopher Columbus to America did prove to be a major part in history. In addition to his explorations, historians have also recognized the navigational skills of Columbus, as he found the best routes across the oceans to America.

Early Life

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoe, now known as Italy, in 1451. His father, Domenico Colombo, was a poor weaver. Columbus had three brothers and one sister. Although, very little is known about Columbus’ childhood, it is apparent that he was well-educated as he was able to speak several languages and had knowledge in classical literature.

Columbus’s birth place of Genoe was a thriving seaport. He learned much about the tales of sailors and their voyages, and he went to sea at an early age of 14. Though, he only made short fishing trips in the beginning, during 1470’s, he went on numerous trading trips to the Northern Europe, the Aegean Sea, and possibly Iceland.

Columbus started living in Portugal in 1476, which was Europe’s greatest seafaring center at that time. During this period, Columbus’s desire for discovering unknown lands increased and he mastered his navigation skills. He was also inspired by Marco Polo’s writings, an explorer who had travelled to lands as far away as Asia.

Columbus proposed his exploration plans to Spanish and Portuguese kings, but each time he was turned down. Finally in 1492, his request was reconsidered by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

First Voyage

Columbus set sail on August 3rd, 1942, after getting sufficient funding from the Spanish monarchs with three ships: the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta. 104 men were also gathered to be in his crew. The ship set across the Atlantic and the journey took five weeks. During the trip many of his men died from hunger, thirst and diseases.

Finally, on October 12th, 1942, Columbus found a land which he believed to be Asia and named it San Salvador. He continued his journey to what he thought would be China in search of riches, but ended up landing Hispania and Cuba. By this time the Pinta’s crew had left to explore on its own and the Santa Maria had been shipwrecked. Hence, Columbus sailed on the Nina to Spain after completing his first voyage on March 15th, 1493.

Second Voyage

Columbus set sail again to the west in September of 1493 with 1,200 men in 17 ships. On November 3rd, he explored 3 more islands: Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Dominica. All of which Columbus thought were islands off of Japan. In search of riches, he set sail again, arriving in Hispaniola. Here some of his crew set up a settlement. He then returned home in March, 1496.

Third Voyage

Columbus’ third voyage took more of a southern route, as he was looking for China. He came across Trinidad and Tobago, Margarita, and Grenada in July 31st, 1498. He then sailed back to Hispaniola only to find that his colony was in shambles. In 1500, Columbus was arrested and sent back to Spain where he was able to defend himself against the charges of treating Spaniards and locals poorly.

Fourth Voyage

In 1502, Columbus started his fourth voyage and reached Hispaniola. He and his crew were turned down when they asked to dock there. He continued his journey and on July 4th he sailed to present day Central America. He and his men were later stranded at St. Ann’s Bay in Jamaica when their ship took on too much damage. They remained stuck on the island for approximately one year. He returned back to Spain on November 7th, 1504 when they were found and rescued.

Final Years

After arriving in Spain, Columbus settled with his son and wrote two books. One of which, entitled Book of Prophecies used Bible passages to mark his accomplishments as an explorer in alignment with Christian eschatology. Columbus later died on May 20th, 1506 at the approximate age of 54.

August 20, 2013 at 9:41 pm | No comment

Daniel Boone

Daniel_Boone_by_Chester_Harding_1820

Born: Oct 22, 1734 in Daniel Boone Homestead, Oley Valley, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Died: Sep 26, 1820 (at age 85) in Nathan Boone’s house, Femme Osage Creek, Missouri
Nationality: American
Occupation: Pioneer, explorer, frontiersman
Famous For: Exploration and settlement of Kentucky

Daniel Boone was an American frontiersman and explorer, best known for his travels in what is now Kentucky. His most famous journey came in 1775, when he established the Wilderness Road across the Appalachians. This succeeded despite fierce opposition from several Native American tribes. Boone’s daring exploits and frontier spirit made him one of the United States’ earliest folk heroes.

Early Life

Boone was born in a log cabin in Exeter Township, Pennsylvania on November 2nd, 1734. His father was an English emigrant who worked as a weaver and blacksmith. As Daniel was the sixth child of the family, his parents could not afford to give him a formal education, although he did learn how to read. His father gave him a rifle when he was twelve, and he showed immediate promise as a woodsman. By the age of 15, he was running a hunting business in North Carolina, where his family now lived.

Boone’s first expedition was in the army, under Brigadier General Edward Braddock during his disastrous 1755 campaign in the French-Indian War. Boone himself almost lost his life when ambushed, but used his survival skills to make it out alive. The following year, he married settled in the Yadkin Valley. Boone seemed content, raising six children, but he eventually started to yearn for a return to the adventurous life he had once craved.

Boone’s Expeditions

The first expedition Boone led was a relatively short hunting trip along Kentucky’s Big Sandy River in 1767. This reached Floyd County, but two years later Boone would embark on a longer and more historically significant journey. With teamster John Finley, an old army comrade, he led a team of four other men to find a way through the Appalachian Mountains to the far western frontier of America. Boone’s party discovered that there was a trail through the Cumberland Gap, which had the potential to be used for journeys of settlement.

Having blazed the new Wilderness Road through the gap, western Kentucky was open for settlement. In April 1775, Boone set up a fort in a new Kentucky settlement, which he named Boonesborough. The fortified nature of the settlement was a necessity, as some of the Native tribes in the region were known to be hostile to Europeans. Later that year, Boone’s family joined him in the new village, of which he himself now acted as leader. An increasing number of colonists settled there too, allowing it to become a substantial township.

Later Life

Resistance by some of the indigenous tribes, in particular the Cherokee and Shawnee people, continued for several years. In the summer of 1776, Boone’s daughter Jemima was kidnapped. He feared for her safety, as well as that of two other girls who had been abducted at the same time, but they told him after he had rescued them that they had been treated relatively well by their captors. Boone himself received a gunshot wound to the ankle during a raid in 1777, although he made a good recovery.

In 1778, the Shawnee captured Boone, although he was quickly able to escape. However, when Boonesborough settlers lent him money to buy land permits, he was robbed on the way to do so. This caused fury among the settlers, some of whom sued. After several years of deteriorating relations, in 1788 Boone moved to Point Pleasant in present-day West Virginia. He served in both military and civic roles there before moving again, this time to Missouri. Here he died at 85 on September 26th, 1820.

August 15, 2013 at 12:56 am | No comment

Edmund Hillary

Edmund_Hillary

Born: Jul 20, 1919 in Auckland, Dominion of New Zealand
Died: Jan 11, 2008 (at age 88) in Auckland, New Zealand
Nationality: New Zealand
Occupation: Mountaineer, explorer, philanthropist

Sir Edmund Hillary achieved both fame and infamy as a legendary explorer. His fame came from being the first man to ever climb to the top of Mount Everest. His infamy derived from his ludicrous search for the Abominable Snowman.

Early Years

Sir Edmund Hillary was born on July 20th, 1919 in Auckland, NZ. He became interested in mountaineering at a very young age. Hillary was short in stature as a child and this lead him to being teased by his classmates. He somewhat withdrew from his peers and found solitude in his readings where he would dream of taking part in great adventures. By the age of 16, he would have a huge growth spurt and tower over his peers. His interest in adventure would not go away. Hillary visited Mount Ruapehu with his classmates and his love for mountain climbing was born.

Even when he attended the University of Auckland, he could not leave his love for climbing mountains behind. He would end up taking part in a number of climbing adventures. In 1939, he would complete his first major climb when he reached the summit of Mount Ollivier.

World War II

As with many millions of young men, Hillary would serve in the armed forces during World War II. Initially, his religious beliefs kept him out of the war. In 1943, he believed his service was truly needed and he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force. A major injury would end his service not too long after.

Mountain Expeditions

On January 30th, 1948, Hillary would be one of the men who reached Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand, the highest peak in the country. This gained him quite a bit of fame and he started to work with the legendary Eric Shipton on a series of expeditions to the Himalaya Mountains in Tibet.

In 1951, Hillary took part in a reconnaissance mission funded by the British. This would be his first climbing experience on Mount Everest. In 1953, he returned to the region and made history. This was the most difficult of all mountains in the world to climb, but Hillary’s innovative abilities and skills at navigating the trek contributed to his success. Reaching the top of the mountain made him famous all throughout the world.

The Abominable Snowman

After climbing Mount Everest, Hillary felt he discovered compelling evidence for the mysterious creature known as the Abominable Snowman. He, sadly, lent his credibility to the notion the creature existed. Hillary garnered some fame for this, but he also met with a lot of ridicule. In time, he gave up his search for the mysterious monster.

Later Years

Sir Edmund Hillary eventually continued on other expeditions and even traveled to the South Pole. He passed away in 2008. To this day, he remains the most famous of all mountaineering explorers.

August 6, 2013 at 9:45 pm | No comment

Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand_Magellan

Born: 1480 in Sabrosa, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
Died: Apr 27, 1521 (at age 40–41) in Mactan, Philippines
Nationality: Portuguese
Famous For: First circumnavigation expedition

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who led the first sailing expedition to circumnavigate the globe. Magellan also is said to have named the Pacific Ocean “Mar Pacifico,” which translates to “peaceful sea.”

Early Life

His birthplace is disputed, it was possibly at Sabrosa or near Porto in northern Portugal. Magellan’s father was Rodrigo de Magalhães. Following the death of both his parents when he was 10 he then became Queen Leonor’s page at the royal court in Lisbon. As a boy, Magellan studied navigation, cartography, astronomy, and celestial navigation.

Navigator and Explorer

By the time he was in his twenties, Magellan became a member of a Portuguese fleet which was traveling to East Africa. Magellan fought during the Battle of Diu, where the Portuguese military destroyed many Egyptian ships that were in the Arabian Sea. He also explored Malacca, which was located in present-day Malaysia, as well as took part in the conquering of the port in Malacca. Some historians believe that he traveled to the Moluccas, a group of islands in Indonesia, which were once called the Spice Islands. These islands grew were home to valuable spices such as nutmeg and cloves which many European’s desired.

Magellan was wounded when he was working in Morocco, and this injury caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. After he was injured, Magellan was falsely charged with trading unlawfully with the Moors, and in spite of his service to his country he did not receive any employment offers.

In 1517, he relocated to Seville, Spain, so he could provide his skills and abilities to the royal court in Spain. In the next three years he studied many new navigational charts. Magellan learned from the mistakes and also the discoveries that other explorers had made.

Final Years

In 1519, he set out on a voyage to circumnavigate the world with full support from Charles V, the King of Spain. On September 20th, 1519, Magellan sailed from Spain with five ships that were not adequate for sailing the long distances that he proposed. The fleet first traveled to Brazil, then sailed down South America’s coast to Patagonia. An attempted mutiny occurred there, and one ship was destroyed. In spite of this setback, Magellan and his crew continued sailing on with the rest of the vessels.

By October of 1520, he and his crew had already entered the area now referred to as the Strait of Magellan. That part of the journey took over four weeks, and during those weeks one of the ship’s commanders deserted the expedition by sailing back home. In March of 1521, Magellan’s fleet stopped in Guam. On March 17th, he reached Homonhon, an island in the Philippines, along with 150 crew members. There, Magellan took part in a local conflict and he was killed during a battle on April 27th. His body was never recovered.

Juan Sebastián del Cano and the remainder of the crew continued on and completed the expedition to circumnavigate the world. The next year, on September 8th, the rest of Magellan’s fleet arrived in Spain, proving that the world was indeed round. Altogether, approximately two hundred and thirty-two sailors perished on this trip.

August 5, 2013 at 9:54 pm | No comment

Francisco Pizarro

Francisco-Pizarro

Born: Jul 26, 1529 in Trujillo, Crown of Castile
Died: Jun 26, 1541 (at age 65–70) in Lima, New Castile
Nationality: Spanish
Occupation: Conquistador
Famous For: Conquering the Inca Empire

Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish explorer and one of the conquistadors who invaded the indigenous kingdoms of Latin America in the 16th century. He led the conquest of the Peruvian Empire. Pizarro had previously undertaken two expeditions to try to conquer the more powerful Incas, but both had failed. He was eventually killed by his own son, who had become estranged from his father following a quarrel Pizarro had had with his old comrade, Diego Almagro.

Early Life

Very little is known for certain about Pizarro’s childhood, but he is known to have been born in the Spanish region of Estremadura, probably in 1471. His birth, in Trujillo, made him the son of the future colonel of infantry, Gonzalo Pizarro. Gonzalo was to go on to have a distinguished military career, attaining particular recognition for his feats in Navarre and Italy in the army of Gonsalvo de Cordova. The young Francisco, meanwhile, seems to have had a difficult upbringing, with little attention being paid to him by his parents and an incomplete education.

First Expeditions

The news that a New World had been discovered to the west of the Atlantic Ocean gripped Spain in the 1490’s, and the young Pizarro was caught up in the excitement. Leaving his unsatisfactory family behind him, he made his way to America, where he is known to have participated in the Uraba expedition, led by Alonzo de Ojeda, in 1510. He briefly commanded the new settlement of San Sebastian, which was to be obliterated by hostile native tribes only a few years later. He then went with Vasco Nuñez de Balboa on the voyage which revealed the existence of the Pacific Ocean.

For his service, Pizarro was given permission to draw on forced labor from the local people. He settled in Panama and farmed cattle until 1522. Then, he teamed up with a soldier, Diego Almagro, and a priest, Hernando de Luque, to lead a new journey into the south for the purposes of conquest and exploration. The three men later made a solemn accord that they would share equally in the riches that they hoped to plunder from the wealthy empire they imagined lay in the direction of their travels.

The Conquest of Peru

Despite a period marooned on a small island with only a few of his men for company, Pizarro managed to penetrate far enough south to hear stories of the Peruvian Empire. Panama’s governor was not in favor of an expedition, so Pizarro set sail for Spain to ask King Charles V for his approval in person. The party reached Seville in the early summer of 1528 and quickly persuaded the kind of the benefits of allowing the expedition to go ahead. In July 1529 in Toledo, he granted Pizarro powers over the province he named New Castile.

By the start of 1530, Pizarro had not succeeded in fulfilling the requirement to raise a force of 250 men; nevertheless, he set off secretly for Peru. His brother, Hernando, joined him later with more ships, but by the time the group left Panama in 1531 he still had only about 180 men and only 30 horses. Despite the smallness of his force, Pizarro succeeded in subduing the Peruvians, but he had little time to enjoy his triumph. An argument about jurisdiction between he and Almagro led first to combat and then to the latter’s execution. Furious, his followers plotted to murder Pizarro, and he was killed on June 26th, 1541.

August 3, 2013 at 11:33 pm | No comment

Francis Drake

Sir-Francis-Drake

Born: c. 1540 in Tavistock, Devon, England
Died: Jan 27, 1596 (at age 56) in Portobelo, Colón, Panama
Nationality: English
Occupation: Sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician

Francis Drake was an influential English sea captain, trader, explorer, politician, and privateer of the Elizabethan Era. He completed the second global circumnavigation from 1577 to 1580. For this he was awarded knighthood by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581.

Early Years

Francis Drake was the oldest of twelve children. His father was a staunch supporter of Martin Luther, and his family was forced to escape to Kent from his family home near Taverstock when the would-be explorer was only eight years old.

The young Francis Drake was apprenticed to a captain trading between the Thames and the Channel ports. In 1563 Francis Drake embarked upon a voyage to the continent of Africa as part of the crew aboard the same ship as his cousin.

Francis Drake and his cousin became involved in slave trading, which eventually got them in trouble with the Spanish government and authorities. Francis Drake was awarded his first command in 1567.

Raids

Francis Drake was a strong Protestant and saw himself as a crusader against the heavily Catholic Spanish empire, which he saw as corrupt. He undertook his first sailing command and raids against the Spanish in 1572.

In 1577, Francis Drake undertook a series of sea-fairing, audacious raids against the Spanish and its colonies. He was fearful of his crew becoming disloyal to him and actually beheaded one of them. Then he relieved all of his officers of their duties.

Explorations

Francis Drake sailed along the Mexican and South American coastline, eventually arriving in California and claiming the land for Queen Elizabeth I. Sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and along the African coast, Francis Drake continued his explorations and raids, growing quite rich from his exploits. Drake eventually arrived back at a port in Plymouth, England, in 1580, being the first Englishman to sail around the world. Drake bought the Buckland Abbey estate and was elected to the House of Commons after being knighted for his service to the British Empire.

Drake was not done yet. He undertook more sea raids against the Spanish beginning in 1584. As second-in-command of the British fleet in 1588, he defeated the powerful Spanish Armada in the battle of Gravelines.

The mighty explorer was a hero to the British, but was considered a mere pirate and thug by the Spanish. However, they also feared the powerful British man and nicknamed him “El Draque,” or “The Dragon.” Francis Drake died of dysentery in Panama in 1596.

As a tribute to Francis Drake’s exploits and achievements, a replica of one of his ships, the Golden Hind, is on display in England.

August 2, 2013 at 6:56 pm | No comment

Hernando de Soto

hernando-de-soto

Born: c. 1496/1497 in Barcarrota or Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain
Died: May 21, 1542 (at age 45 or 46) in Indian village of Guachoya (near present-day McArthur, Desha County, Arkansas)
Nationality: Spanish
Occupation: Explorer and conquistador
Famous For: First European to explore past and document the Mississippi River

Hernando de Soto was born in 1496 in Extremadura, Spain. He grew up poor. Because of this, Hernando de Soto dreamed of glory and wealth by finding new lands in the west. In 1514, he went with the first Governor of Panama to the New World. He had many of the skills necessary to help with the conquest of Central America. These skills caused him to gain a lot of fame and recognition that led to him helping with the conquest of Peru.

De Soto and Peru

After becoming a member of the council in Leon, Nicaragua, de Soto led an expedition in the Yucatan Peninsula in 1530. During this trip he was to find a passage between the Pacific and Atlanta Oceans that would make trade with the Orient easier. Unfortunately de Soto did not find what he was looking for, which led him to leave his life in Nicaragua for good. From here he took his men to the base of Francisco Pizarro.

Pizarro named him captain, and soon after that he had de Soto set up a meeting with Atahualpa and his people who lived in the area. Their men then attacked the inhabitant’s tents and held Atahualpa captive for several months. They received ransom for Atahualpa in the form of gold and silver. It was then that they heard that an Incan army was moving in.

Pizarro gave orders to de Soto for him to go look for the army, and when he left he killed Atahualpa so he could not be saved by his people. De Soto came back to the base to let Pazarro know he did not find any army. De Soto was angry that Pazarro killed Atahualpa as he had made friends with him during his time captive. From here the men headed to conquer Cuzco. Pizarro’s brother and de Soto went before Pizarro with 40 other men and battled the Incan successfully.

In Cuzco the men found gold, silver and many other treasures that made them rich. Eventually de Soto was made lieutenant governor of Cuzco while the capital was being rebuilt. After being denied to be the second in command to the governor, he left the area with his treasure and headed to Spain.

Exploration of North America

After returning to Spain, de Soto was given governorship of Cuba by King Charles and he married Isabel de Bobadilla. He commissioned 620 volunteers to go with him to Cuba and on an expedition of North America. With him he brought livestock, horses and armor along with equipment they would need. Although the exact route the de Soto took has been argued by historians, it’s believed that the first stop made was in Florida in 1539.

In 1540 they went to Georgia and then North Carolina. After a month in the Appalachian Mountains, they headed to Tennessee and then Alabama or Georgia. The next area they landed in was Mississippi. They stayed there for an entire winter. In 1541 they went through the Mississippi River to the Arkansas River. After going into Arkansas they headed back to the Mississippi River once again.

On May 21, 1542, de Soto passed away due to semitropical fever. He died in a village located in Arkansas or Louisiana named Guachoya.

July 30, 2013 at 8:10 pm | No comment