Early Explorers Flashcards

Grade 5 · Social Studies · Flashcards

Key explorers, voyages, and vocabulary from the Age of Exploration.

Flashcards

Christopher Columbus: Italian explorer sailing for Spain; reached the Caribbean in 1492, opening European contact with the Americas.
Vasco da Gama: Portuguese explorer; first European to sail to India by going around Africa (1498), opening a sea trade route to Asia.
Ferdinand Magellan: Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain; his expedition (1519–1522) was the first to circumnavigate the globe.
Bartolomeu Dias: Portuguese explorer; first European to sail around Africa's southern tip (Cape of Good Hope) in 1488.
Amerigo Vespucci: Italian explorer who recognized the Americas as continents new to Europeans; the continents were named after him.
Circumnavigate: To sail completely around something, especially the globe.
Columbian Exchange: The exchange of foods, animals, diseases, and cultures between Europe, Africa, and the Americas beginning in 1492.
Conquistador: A Spanish conqueror who explored and conquered large areas of the Americas in the 1500s; examples include Cortés and Pizarro.
Age of Exploration: The period (~1400s–1600s) when European nations sponsored long ocean voyages to find new trade routes and territories.
John Cabot: Italian explorer sailing for England; explored the North American coast in 1497, giving England its claim to North America.