Renaissance Explorers
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was one of the greatest explorers of the Renaissance Period.
Magellan was born in 1480. In his native tongue his name was Fernanao de Magalhaes. In his youth he became a page in the Portuguese court. At the age of 17 Magellan sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and he sailed for the king of Spain, He then became a solider at the age of 25 and served in India.
In 1512 he went to offer his services to the king of Spain. He was inspired by rumors of another ocean on the other side of the new world that Christopher Columbus had discovered. In 1518, king Charles I of Spain approved the plan and after a year of preparation the expedition left Seville on September 20, 1519. In 1521, Magellan was killed in a fight between local natives while on the Spice Islands. Magellan's impact was providing the first positive proof that the world was round, and that opened up trade routes to explorers all over the world.
Magellan was born in 1480. In his native tongue his name was Fernanao de Magalhaes. In his youth he became a page in the Portuguese court. At the age of 17 Magellan sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and he sailed for the king of Spain, He then became a solider at the age of 25 and served in India.
In 1512 he went to offer his services to the king of Spain. He was inspired by rumors of another ocean on the other side of the new world that Christopher Columbus had discovered. In 1518, king Charles I of Spain approved the plan and after a year of preparation the expedition left Seville on September 20, 1519. In 1521, Magellan was killed in a fight between local natives while on the Spice Islands. Magellan's impact was providing the first positive proof that the world was round, and that opened up trade routes to explorers all over the world.
Christopher Columbus
In 1492, a trip to the East, made by sailing westward around the world, brought Columbus to the New World--lands known today as the Americas. Columbus had originally set out to find an all-water route to the East Indies; when he spotted the Americas, he believed he had reached his intended destination. It was ten years before Europeans realized that he had found a new land.
These new continents offered riches other than spices, in the form of gold and silver. Spaniard Hernando Cortez discovered an abundance of gold among the Aztecs in what is now known as Mexico. Stories of more gold to be found led him and other Spanish explorers to conquer most of Mexico and Latin America.
The discovery of silver led to the beginning of silver mining in Mexico and South America. Other finds in the New World introduced Europeans to corn, tomatoes, tobacco, and chocolate.
These new continents offered riches other than spices, in the form of gold and silver. Spaniard Hernando Cortez discovered an abundance of gold among the Aztecs in what is now known as Mexico. Stories of more gold to be found led him and other Spanish explorers to conquer most of Mexico and Latin America.
The discovery of silver led to the beginning of silver mining in Mexico and South America. Other finds in the New World introduced Europeans to corn, tomatoes, tobacco, and chocolate.