Biography – KABANATA 16 ANG PANAHON NG PAGTUKLAS AT

PANANAKOP .

Mid-to late 15th Century The Explorers during the Age of Discovery o Age of Exploration

Introduction:• It was an age in which European sailors and ships left the coastal waters of the Old World and embarked on their adventure on the vast "green sea of darkness." First, Portuguese ships, then Spanish and finally, in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, British, French and Dutch ships set out to discover a world, a world they originally called the Other World, but eventually called the Mundus Novus -- the New World.

DISCOVERED PORTUGAL

Bartholomeu Dias (1488)

Vasco de Gama (1498)

Pedro Cabral (1500)

Bartolomeu DiasBartolomeu Dias Anglicized: Bartholomew

Diaz; c. 1451 – 29 May 1500), a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer. He sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so.

Occupation : Knight

Bartolomeu DiasPurposes of the Dias expeditionBartolomeu Dias was a Knight of the royal court,

superintendent of the royal warehouses, and sailing-master of the man-of-war, São Cristóvão (Saint Christopher). King John II of Portugal appointed him, on 10 October 1487, to head an expedition to sail around the southern tip of Africa in the hope of finding a trade route to India. Dias was also charged with searching for the lands ruled by Prester John, who was a fabled Christian priest and ruler.

Born: 1460 or 1469Sines or Vidigueira, Alentejo,Kingdom of Portugal

Died: 23 December 1524(aged c. 55–65)Kochim, Portuguese India

Vasco de Gama

He is one of the most famous and celebrated explorers from the Discovery Ages, being the first European to reach India by sea. This discovery was very significant and paved the way for the Portuguese to establish a long lasting colonial empire in Asia. The route meant that the Portuguese would not need to cross the highly disputed Mediterranean nor the dangerous Arabia, and that the whole voyage would be made by sea.

After decades of sailors trying to reach India with thousands of lives and dozens of vessels lost in shipwrecks and attacks, Gama landed in Calicut on 20 May 1498. Reaching the legendary Indian spice routes unopposed helped the Portuguese Empire improve its economy that, until Gama, was mainly based on trades along Northern and coastal West Africa. These spices were mostly pepper and cinnamon at first, but soon included other products, all new to Europe which led to a commercial monopoly for several decades.

Vasco de Gama

Gama headed two of the armadas destined for India, the first and the fourth, the biggest armada, only four years after his arrival from the first one. For his contributions he was named in 1524 as the Governor of India, under the title of Viceroy, and given the newly created County of Vidigueira in 1519.

Numerous homages have been made worldwide in Vasco da Gama's honour for his explorations and accomplishments. He remains as a leading exploration figure to this day. The Portuguese national epic, Os Lusíadas, was written to celebrate Vasco da Gama. His first trip to India is widely considered a pinnacle of world history as it marked the beginning of the first wave of global multiculturalism.

Vasco de Gama

Henry HudsonBorn: c. 1560/70s

England

OccupationEnglish Sea

Commander, Author

Henry HudsonHenry Hudson (born c. 1560s/70s) was an English sea explorer

 and navigator in the early 17th century.Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find

a prospective Northwest Passage to Cathay (today's China) via a route above theArctic Circle. Hudson explored the region around modern New York metropolitan area while looking for a western route to Asia under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company. He explored the river which eventually was named for him, and laid thereby the foundation for Dutch colonization of the region.

Hudson discovered a strait and immense bay on his final expedition while searching for the Northwest Passage. In 1611, after wintering on the shore of James Bay, Hudson wanted to press on to the west, but most of his crew mutinied. The mutineers cast Hudson, his son and 7 others adrift; the Hudsons, and those cast off at their side, were never seen again.

 Prince Henry the Navigator

 (1394-1460)Infante Henry, Duke of Viseu (March 1394 – 13 

November 1460), better known as Henry the Navigator, was an important figure in the early days of the 

Portuguese Empire and the Age of Discoveries in total. He was responsible for the early development of 

European exploration and maritime trade with other continents.

Henry was the third child of King John I of Portugal, founder of the Aviz dynasty, and of Philippa of Lancaster, John of Gaunt's daughter. Henry encouraged his father 

to conquer Ceuta (1415), the Muslim port on the North African coast across the Straits of Gibraltar from the Iberian peninsula. He learnt of the opportunities from the Saharan trade routes that terminated there, and became fascinated with Africa in general; he was most intrigued by the Christian legend of Prester John

 and the expansion of Portuguese trade. Henry is regarded as the patron of Portuguese exploration.

Cristobal (Christopher Columbus) Born: 31 October 1451

Genoa, Republic of Genoa, in present-day Italy

Died : 20 May 1506 (aged c. 54)Valladolid, Crown of Castile, in present-day Spain

Occupation Maritime explorer

‘’Some explorers combined expeditionary roles with naturalist studies and scientific research, means of establishing communication with other populations, commercial trade, and military missions such as establishment of colonies.’’

He sailed on a second voyage on September 25, 1493, this time with twenty ships (the trans-Atlantic passage lasted twenty-one days), and on November 3, sighted Dominca in the WestIndies, and by the end of the month, he had discovered the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. He returned to Navidad only to find that the fortress he had left in 1493 lay in ruins and the men all dead. In April 1494 he left the West Indies in search of a route to China. He reached Cuba, but after hearing of an island that contained vast quantities of gold he sailed south and landed at Jamaica. After a hostile welcome from the natives, Columbus left for Cuba but faced with shoals, he gave up the quest and decided to return to Spain. In poor health, Columbus set sail on March 10, 1496, with two ships and returned to Spain on June 8.The third voyage of Christopher Columbus began with six ships on May 30, 1498. Three ships sailed for Hispaniola while the other three, captained by Columbus, went on a mission of exploration. This voyage resulted in the discovery of Trinidad and Margarita. He eventually arrived at Santa Domingo on the island of Hispaniola on August 19, 1498. There he found the colony in turmoil. This time it was his own colonist who had led a revolt against his administration. Francisco de Bobadilla (d. 1502) was appointed as royal commissioner, Columbus was arrested, and in October 1500, he was sent home to Spain in irons.

On May 11, 1502, Columbus made his final voyage with four ships and 140 men. It was to be a voyage of continual hardship as constant storms and hostile Indians beleaguered Columbus and his tired crew. Although he was able to traverse the coast of Central America south to Panama. Columbus returned home on November 7, 1504. He died at Valladolid, Spain, on May 20, 1506. There is much controversy regarding his ultimate resting place, his body having been exhumed many times over a period of centuries.Other Spanish discoveries followed those of Columbus. On September 1, 1513, Vasco

.The expedition sailed south along the West coast of Africa. Extra provisions

were picked up on the way at the Portuguese fortress of São Jorge de Mina on the Gold Coast. After having sailed past Angola, Dias reached the Golfo da

Conceicão (Walvis Bay) by December. Having rounded the Cape of Good Hope at a considerable distance, Dias continued east and entered what he named

Aguada de São Brás (Bay of Saint Blaise)—later renamedMossel Bay—on 3 February 1488. Dias's expedition reached its furthest point on 12 March 1488

when they anchored at Kwaaihoek, near the mouth of the Bushman's River, where a padrão—the Padrão de São Gregório—was erected before turning

back. Dias wanted to continue sailing to India, but he was forced to turn back when his crew refused to go further. It was only on the return voyage that he

actually discovered the Cape of Good Hope, in May 1488. Dias returned to Lisbon in December of that year, after an absence of sixteen months

The discovery of the passage around southern Africa was significant because, for the first time, Europeans realized they could trade directly with India and

the other parts of Asia, bypassing the overland route through the Middle East, with its expensive middlemen. The official report of the expedition has been lostBartolomeu Dias originally named the Cape of Good Hope the "Cape of Storms"

(Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed (by King John II of Portugal) the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperança) because it represented the

opening of a route to the east.

THE EXPEDITION

Born Fernão de Magalhães1480Sabrosa, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal

Died April 27, 1521 (aged 40–41)Mactan, Philippines

Nationality Portuguese

Known for The first periplus around the world (for east and west) and captaining the first circumnavigation, across the Atlantic Ocean to the Strait of Magellan and across the Pacific Ocean.

Fernando Magallanes

Ferdinand Magellan's Early Years

Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480–1521) was born in Sabrosa, Portugal, to a family of minor Portuguese nobility. At age 12 Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese and Fernando de Magallanesin Spanish) and his brother Diogo traveled to Lisbon to serve as pages at Queen Leonora's court. While at the court Magellan was exposed to stories of the great Portuguese and Spanish rivalry for sea exploration and dominance over the spice trade in the East Indies, especially the Spice Islands, or Moluccas, in modern Indonesia. Intrigued by the promise of fame and riches, Magellan developed an interest in maritime discovery in those early years.

In 1505, Magellan and his brother were assigned to a Portuguese fleet headed for India. Over the next seven years, Magellan participated in several expeditions in India and Africa and was wounded in several battles. In 1513 he joined the enormous 500-ship, 15,000-soldier force sent by King Manuel to Morocco to challenge the Moroccan governor who refused to pay its yearly tribute to the Portuguese empire. The Portuguese easily overwhelmed the Moroccan forces, and Magellan stayed on in Morocco. While there he was seriously wounded in a skirmish, which left him with a limp for the rest of his life.

In search of fame and fortune, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521) set out from Spain in 1519 with a fleet of five ships to discover a western sea route to the Spice Islands. En route he discovered what is now known as the Strait of Magellan and became the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean. The voyage was long and dangerous, and only one ship returned home three years later. Although it was laden with valuable spices from the East, only 18 of the fleet's original crew of 270 returned with the ship. Magellan himself was killed in battle on the voyage, but his ambitious expedition proved that the globe could be circled by sea and that the world was much larger than had previously been imagined.

Magellan: ‘’Circumnavigating the Globe’’

Circumnavigation of Magellan

Death in the Philippines Monument in Lapu-Lapu City,Cebu in the Philippines. Heading northwest, the crew reached the equator on 13 February 1521. On 6 March

they reached the Marianas and Guam. Magellan called Guam the "Island of Sails" because they saw a lot of sailboats. They renamed it Ladrones Island (Island of Thieves) because many of the small boats of Trinidad were stolen there. On 17 March Magellan reached the island of Homonhon in the Philippines, with 150 crew left. Members of his expedition became the first Spaniards to reach the Philippine archipelago, but they were not the first Europeans.[20]

Magellan relied on Enrique, his Malay servant and interpreter, to communicate with the native tribes. He had been indentured by Magellan in 1511 after the colonization of Malacca, and had accompanied him through later adventures. They traded gifts with Rajah Siaiu of Mazaua[21] who guided them to Cebu on 7 April.

Rajah Humabon of Cebu was friendly towards Magellan and the Spaniards; both he and his queen Hara Amihan were baptized as Christians. Afterward, Rajah Humabon and his ally Datu Zula convinced Magellan to kill their enemy, Datu Lapu-Lapu, on Mactan. Magellan wanted to convert Lapu-Lapu to Christianity, as he had Humabon, but Lapu-Lapu rejected that. On the morning of 27 April 1521, Magellan sailed to Mactan with a small attack force. During the resulting battleagainst Lapu-Lapu's troops, Magellan was struck by a bamboo spear, and later surrounded and finished off with other weapons

Found Near His monument.

John CabotThough the exact details of his life and expeditions are the

subject of debate, John Cabot (or Giovanni Caboto, as he was known in Italian) may have developed the idea of sailing westward to reach the riches of Asia while working for a Venetian merchant. By the late 1490s, he was living in England, and gained a commission from King Henry VII to make an expedition across the northern Atlantic. He sailed from Bristol in May 1497 and made landfall in late June. The exact site of Cabot's landing has not been definitively established; it may have been located in Newfoundland, Cape Breton Island or southern Labrador. After returning to England to report his success, Cabot departed on a second expedition in mid-1498, but is thought to have perished in a shipwreck en route.

John Cabot's Early Life

Giovanni Caboto was born circa 1450 in Genoa, and moved to Venice around 1461; he became a Venetian citizen in 1476. Evidence suggests that he worked as a merchant in the spice trade of the Levant, or eastern Mediterranean, and may have traveled as far as Mecca, then an important trading center for Oriental and Western goods. He studied navigation and map-making during this period, and (similarly to his countryman Christopher Columbus) appears to have become interested in the possibility of reaching the rich markets of Asia by sailing in a westward direction. 

Cabot's First Voyage

In 1896, King Henry VII issued letters patent to Cabot and his son, which authorized them to make a voyage of discovery and to return with goods for sale on the English market. After a first, aborted attempt, Cabot sailed out of Bristol on the small ship Matthew in May 1497, with a crew of 18 men. The expedition made landfall in North America on June 24; the exact location is disputed, but may have been southern Labrador, the island of Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island. When Cabot went ashore, he reportedly saw signs of habitation but no people. He took possession of the land for King Henry, but hoisted both the English and Venetian flags. 

Cabot's Second Voyage

In London in late 1497, Cabot proposed to King Henry VII that he set out on a second expedition across the north Atlantic. This time, he would continue westward from his first landfall until he reached the island of Cipangu (Japan). In February 1498, the king issued letters patent for the second voyage, and that May Cabot set off from Bristol with about five ships and 200 men. 

The exact fate of the expedition has not been established, but by July one of the ships had been damaged and sought anchorage in Ireland. It was believed that the ships had been caught in a severe storm, and by 1499, Cabot himself was presumed to have perished at sea. In addition to laying the groundwork for British land claims in Canada, his expeditions proved the existence of a shorter route across the northern Atlantic Ocean, which would later facilitate the establishment of other British colonies in North America.

William ShakespeareBornBaptised 26 April 1564

(birth date unknown)Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire,England

Died: 23 April 1616 (aged 52)Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England

Occupation: Playwright

William Shakespeare  ( 26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616)  Was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest

writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children:Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of aplaying company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

More Works of Shakespeare Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.[6][nb 4] His early

plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet,King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. In 1623, John Heminges and Henry Condell, two friends and fellow actors of Shakespeare, published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's. It was prefaced with a poem by Ben Jonson, in which Shakespeare is hailed, presciently, as "not of an age, but for all time."

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th century. TheRomantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry".[8] In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world

Early lifeWilliam Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare

, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26 April 1564. His actual date of birth remains unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April, Saint George's Day. This date, which can be traced back to an 18th-century scholar's mistake, has proved appealing to biographers, since Shakespeare died 23 April 1616. He was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son.

Samuel de ChamplainBorn Samuel Champlain

baptised August 13, 1574[1][2]

Brouage or La Rochelle, Aunis,France

Died December 25, 1635 (aged 61)Quebec, Canada (New France)

Occupation navigator, cartographer, soldier,explorer, administrator andchronicler of New France

Known for exploration of New France, foundation of Quebec City,Canada, being called The Father of New France

Religion Roman Catholic or protestant

Samuel de Champlain Samuel Champlain; on or before August 13, 1574– December 25, 1635),

"The Father ofNew France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608. He is important to Canadian history because he made the first accurate map of the coast and he helped establish the settlements.

Born into a family of mariners, Champlain, while still a young man, began exploring North America in 1603 under the guidance of François Gravé Du Pont,[3][4] From 1604 to 1607 Champlain participated in the exploration and settlement of the first permanent European settlement north of Florida,Port Royal, Acadia (1605). Then, in 1608, he established the French settlement that is now Quebec City.[5] Champlain was the first European to explore and describe the Great Lakes, and published maps of his journeys and accounts of what he learned from the natives and the French living among the Natives. He formed relationships with local Montagnais and Innu and later with others farther west (Ottawa River, Lake Nipissing, orGeorgian Bay), with Algonquin and with Huron Wendat, and agreed to provide assistance in their wars against the Iroquois.

Works of Samuel In 1620, Louis XIII ordered Champlain to cease exploration, return to

Quebec, and devote himself to the administration of the country. In every way but formal title, Samuel de Champlain served as Governor of New France, a title that may have been formally unavailable to him owing to his non-noble status.[7] He established trading companies that sent goods, primarily fur, to France, and oversaw the growth of New France in the St. Lawrence River valley until his death in 1635.

Champlain is memorialized as the "Father of New France" and "Father of Acadia", and many places, streets, and structures in northeastern North America bear his name, or have monuments established in his memory. The most notable of these is Lake Champlain, which straddles the border between northern New York and Vermont, extending slightly across the border into Canada. In 1609 he led an expedition up the Richelieu River and explored a long, narrow lake situated between the Green Mountains of present-day Vermont and the Adirondack Mountains of present-day New York; he named the lake after himself as the first European to map and describe it.

Miguel López de LegazpiMonarch Phillip II

Succeeded by Guido de Lavezaris

Personal details

Born Miguel López de Legazpic. 1502Zumarraga, GipuzkoaCrown of Castile

Died August 20, 1572 (aged 69–70)Manila, Spanish East Indies,Spanish Empire

Resting place San Agustin Church, Manila

Miguel López de Legazpi(c. 1502 – August 20, 1572), also known as El Adelantado

 and El Viejo (The Elder), was a Basque Spanish navigator and governor who established the first Spanish settlement in the East Indies when his expedition crossed the Pacific Ocean from the Viceroyalty of New Spain in modern-day Mexico, and founded Cebu on the Philippine Islands in 1565. He was the first Governor-General of Spanish East Indieswhich included the Philippines and other Pacific.

Archipelagos, namely Guam and the Marianas Islands. After obtaining peace with various indigenous tribes, Miguel López de Legazpi made Manila the capital of the Spanish East Indies in 1571. The capital of the province of Albay in the Philippines,Legazpi City bears his name.

MexicoIn 1528, Hernán Cortés established settlements in

North America and López de Legazpi traveled to Mexico (New Spain) to start a new life. This was due to the death of his parents and his dissatisfaction with his eldest sibling, who inherited the family fortune. In Tlaxcala, he worked with Juan Garcés and Juan's sister, Isabel Garcés. López de Legazpi would go on to marry Isabel and have nine children with her. Isabel died in the mid 1550s.

Between 1528 and 1559 he worked as a leader of the financial department council and as the civil governor of Mexico City.

Philippines Expedition to the Philippines A route of the Spanish expeditions in the Philippines. Statue of López de Legazpi with Datu Sikatuna in Tagbilaran, Bohol, marks the location

where the Blood compact alliance took place. Statue of López de Legazpi in Zumarraga, Spain. In 1564, López de Legazpi was commissioned by the viceroy, Luis de Velasco, to lead an

expedition in the Pacific Ocean, to find the Spice Islandswhere the earlier explorers Ferdinand Magellan and Ruy López de Villalobos had landed in 1521 and 1543, respectively. The expedition was ordered by King Philip II of Spain, after whom the Philippines had earlier been named by Ruy López de Villalobos. The viceroy died in July 1564, but the Audienciaand López de Legazpi completed the preparations for the expedition.

On November 19 or 20, 1564, five ships and 500 soldiers, sailed from the port of Barra de Navidad, New Spain, in what is now Jalisco state, Mexico (other sources give the date as November 1, 1564, and mention 'four ships and 380 men').[citation needed] Members of the expedition included six Augustinian missionaries, in addition to Fr. Andrés de Urdaneta, who served as navigator and spiritual adviser, Melchor de Legazpi (son of Adelanto de Legazpi), Felipe de Salcedo (grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi), and Guido de Lavezarez (a survivor of the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan).

López de Legazpi and his men sailed the Pacific Ocean for 93 days. In 1565, they landed in the Mariana Islands, where they briefly anchored and replenished their supplies. There they fought with Chamorro tribes and burned several huts.

Amerigo VespucciAmerigo Vespucci was an Italian-born merchant and

explorer who took part in early voyages to the New World on behalf of Spain around the late 15th century. By that time, the Vikings had established settlements in present-day North America as early as 1,000 A.D. and Christopher Columbus had already "discovered" several Caribbean and Central American islands, yet it's Vespucci's name that prevailed. Early accounts of Vespucci's voyages, now believed to have been forgeries, had quickly spread throughout Europe. In 1507, using these letters as his guide, a German cartographer created a new map, naming the territory now known as South America in Vespucci's honor. For the first time, the word "America" was in print.

Amerigo VespucciEarly LifeVespucci was the son of Nastagio, a notary. As a boy Vespucci was

given a humanistic education by his uncle Giorgio Antonio. In 1479 he accompanied another relation, sent by the famous Italian family of Medici to be their spokesman to the king of France. On returning, Vespucci entered the “bank” of Lorenzo and Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de' Medici and gained the confidence of his employers. At the end of 1491 their agent, Giannotto Berardi, appears to have been engaged partly in fitting out ships; and Vespucci was probably present whenChristopher Columbus returned from his first expedition, which Berardi had assisted. Later Vespucci was to collaborate, still with Berardi, in the preparation of a ship for Columbus's second expedition and of others for his third. When Berardi died, either at the end of 1495 or at the beginning of 1496, Vespucci became manager of the Sevilla agency.

Amerigo VespucciBorn March 9, 1454

Florence, Republic of Florence, in present-day Italy

Died February 22, 1512 (aged 57)Seville, Crown of Castile, in present-day Spain

Nationality Florentine (Italian)

Other names Américo Vespucio [es]Americus Vespucius [la]Américo Vespúcio [pt]Alberigo Vespucci

Occupation Merchant, Explorer,Cartographer

Known for Demonstrating that the New World was not Asia but a previously unknown fourthcontinent.[a]

Pedro Cabral 

Pedro Álvares Cabral

Pedro Álvares Cabral (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾu ˈaɫvɐɾɨʃ kɐˈβɾaɫ] or Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈpedɾu ˈawvaɾis kaˈbɾaw]; c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are unclear, it is known that he came from a minor noble family and received a good education. He was appointed to head an expedition to India in 1500, following Vasco da Gama'snewly opened route around Africa. The object of the undertaking was to return with valuable spices and to establish trade relations in India—bypassing the monopoly on the spice trade then in the hands of Arab, Turkish and Italian merchants.

His fleet of 13 ships sailed far into the western Atlantic Ocean, perhaps intentionally, where he made landfall on what he initially assumed to be a large island. As the new land was within the Portuguese sphere according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, Cabral claimed it for the Portuguese Crown. He explored the coast, realizing that the large land mass was probably a continent, and dispatched a ship to notify King Manuel I of the new territory. The continent was South America, and the land he had claimed for Portugal later came to be known as Brazil. The fleet reprovisioned and then turned eastward to resume the journey to India.

Pedro Álvares Cabral

A storm in the southern Atlantic caused the loss of several ships, and the six remaining ships eventually rendezvoused in the Mozambique Channelbefore proceeding to Calicut in India. Cabral was originally successful in negotiating trading rights, but Arab merchants saw Portugal's venture as a threat to their monopoly and stirred up an attack by both Muslims and Hindus on the Portuguese entrepôt. The Portuguese sustained many casualties and their facilities were destroyed. Cabral took vengeance by looting and burning the Arab fleet and then bombarded the city in retaliation for its ruler having failed to explain the unexpected attack. From Calicut the expedition sailed to the Kingdom of Cochin, another Indian city-state, where Cabral befriended its ruler and loaded his ships with coveted spices before returning to Europe. Despite the loss of human lives and ships, Cabral's voyage was deemed a success upon his return to Portugal. The extraordinary profits resulting from the sale of the spices bolstered the Portuguese Crown's finances and helped lay the foundation of a Portuguese Empire that would stretch from the Americas to the Far East.

Pedro Álvares Cabral

Cabral was later passed over, possibly as a result of a quarrel with Manuel I, when a new fleet was assembled to establish a more robust presence in India. Having lost favor with the King, he retired to a private life of which few records survive. His accomplishments slipped mostly into obscurity for more than 300 years. Decades after Brazil's independence from Portugal in the 19th century, Cabral's reputation began to be rehabilitated by EmperorPedro II of Brazil. Historians have long argued whether Cabral was Brazil's discoverer, and whether the discovery was accidental or intentional. The first question has been settled by the observation that the few, cursory encounters by explorers before him were barely noticed at the time and contributed nothing to the future development and history of the land which would become Brazil, the sole Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. On the second question, no definite consensus has been formed, and the intentional discovery hypothesis lacks solid proof. Nevertheless, although he was overshadowed by contemporary explorers, Cabral today is regarded as a major figure of the Age of Discovery.

Captain James CookBorn 7 November [O.S.

 27 October] 1728Marton, (in present-dayMiddlesbrough) Yorkshire, England

Died 14 February 1779 (aged 50)Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii

Nationality British

Education Postgate School, Great Ayton

Occupation Explorer, navigator, cartographer

Title Captain

James CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN (7 November 1728[NB 1] – 14 February

1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He saw action in the Seven Years' War, and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This helped bring Cook to the attention of theAdmiralty and Royal Society. This notice came at a crucial moment in both Cook's career and the direction of British overseas exploration, and led to his commission in 1766 as commander of HM Bark Endeavour for the first of three Pacific voyages.

More WorksIn three voyages Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely

uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously achieved. As he progressed on his voyages of discovery he surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.

Cook was killed in Hawaii in a fight with Hawaiians during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific in 1779. He left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge which was to influence his successors well into the 20th century and numerous memoria worldwide have been dedicated to him.

Philip II of Spain

Born 21 May 1527Valladolid, Spain

Died 13 September 1598(aged 71)

King of Naples

Reign 25 July 1554 – 13 September 1598

Predecessor Charles V

Successor Philip III

King of England and Ireland (jure uxoris)

Reign 25 July 1554 – 17 November 1558

Predecessor and co-ruler Mary I

Successor Elizabeth I

King of Spain

Reign 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598

Predecessor Charles I

Successor Philip III

King of Portugal and the Algarves

Reign 25 March 1581 – 13 September 1598

Predecessor Henry

Successor Philip III

Biography of Philip IIPhilip II (Spanish: Felipe II; 21 May 1527 – 13 September

1598) was King of Spain[1] from 1556 and of Portugal from 1581 (as Philip I, Filipe I). From 1554 he was King of Naples and Sicily as well as Duke of Milan. During his marriage to Queen Mary I (1554–58), he was also King of Englandand Ireland.[2][3] From 1555, he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. Known in Spanish as "Philip the Prudent" (Felipe el Prudente), his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake Philippine Islands. During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power. The expression "The empire on which the sun never sets" was coined during Philip's time to reflect the extent of his possessions.

Biography of Philip IIDuring Philip's reign there were separate state bankruptcies in

1557, 1560, 1575, and 1596. This was partly the cause for the declaration of independence which created the Dutch Republic in 1581. A devout Catholic, Philip is also known for organizing a huge naval expedition against Protestant England in 1588, known usually as the Spanish Armada, which was unsuccessful, partly due to storms and grave logistical problems.

Philip was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as "slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive." The Ambassador went on to say "He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious."