John cortes explorer for kids
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For Kids
People become explorers for many reasons. Some like adventure. Some are scientists. Some are looking for riches. Some want to make new discoveries. Some are missionaries. Whatever their reason, explorers have some important things in common - they face the unknown, they suffer hardships, and some never man it back to tell their tales. Here are some famous explorers, each who experienced quite an adventure!
New World Explorers
Leif Eriksson: One famous Norse (Viking) explorer was Leif Eriksson. You might call Leif a teen idol. He was tall and blonde and ung and brave. He loved adventuring. Lief and a small grupp of dock sailed across the sea and landed in North America 500 years BEFORE Columbus. The Vikings established a settlement on the coast of North amerika. But the Viking settlers missed their homeland, and returned home. Learn more about the Vikings.
Christopher Columbus: Columbus was an Italian explorer. He is credited with discovering America
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Hernán Cortés
(1485-1547)
Who Was Hernán Cortés?
Born around 1485, Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who defeated the Aztecs and claimed Mexico for Spain.
He first set sail to the New World at the age of 19. Cortés later joined an expedition to Cuba. In 1518, he set off to explore Mexico.
Cortés strategically aligned some Indigenous peoples against others and eventually overthrew the vast and powerful Aztec empire. As a reward, King Charles I appointed him governor of New Spain in 1522.
Early Life
Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca, was born around 1485 in Medellín, Spain. He came from a lesser noble family in Spain. Some reports indicate that he studied at the University of Salamanca for a time.
In 1504, Cortés left Spain to seek his fortune in New World. He traveled to the island of Santo Domingo, or Hispaniola. Settling in the new town of Azúa, Cortés served as a notary for several years.
He joined an expedition of Cuba led by Diego Velázquez
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- The Age of Exploration was a time when more people were exploring. It is also called the Age of Discovery.
- During this time, famous explorers became very prolific. Afterward, the world has also given us explorers that have traveled every inch of our planet!
- Some great explorers also did terrible things. They went to places where they were not supposed to go and did things that weren’t supposed to be done, as the slave trade or colonizing a place: all happen in exploring a new land.
Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano
The first explorer to cross the Pacific Ocean was Ferdinand Magellan, and he was Portuguese and one of the famous explorers. He went to the East Indies with a Spanish expedition.
Magellan and his ships reached an island in the western Pacific. The trip was difficult because of bad weather and a crew with scurvy. But Magellan died when he got to the Philippines after getting caught up in a battle between two rival chieftains.
The expedition, which