Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512): Was an Italian explorer and cartographer.

He began his career in

exploration working for the Medici family; was a merchant and navigator. Vespucci participated in several
voyages exploring parts of South America's eastern coast, particularly present-day Brazil, and the
Caribbean islands. He is known for recognizing the lands as a new continent. He is often credited with
realizing that the lands explored were part of a new continent and not connected to Asia, leading to the use
of the name "America'' in his honor.

Christopher Columbus: born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, was a renowned Italian explorer and
navigator. He is best known for his voyages that connected the Old World (Europe) with the New World (the
Americas) in the late 15th century. He embarked on four voyages to the Americas:

1st Voyage (1492-1493): Columbus set sail from Spain on August 3, 1492, with three ships: the Santa
Maria, the Pinta, and the Niña. On October 12, 1492, they reached an island in the present-day Bahamas.
Columbus explored various Caribbean islands, including Cuba and Hispaniola. He returned to Spain in
March 1493, believing he had reached Asia.

2nd Voyage (1493-1496): Columbus departed from Spain in September 1493 with a larger fleet of 17
ships. He arrived in the Caribbean and explored islands such as Dominica and Puerto Rico. Columbus
established the first Spanish colonies in the Americas on Hispaniola. He returned to Spain in 1496.

3rt Voyage (1498-1500): Columbus left for his third voyage in May 1498 with six ships. This voyage took
him farther south to the coast of South America, including the mouth of the Orinoco River. He explored
Trinidad and several other Caribbean islands. Columbus returned to Spain in 1500.

4th Voyage (1502-1504): Columbus embarked on his final journey in May 1502, again with a fleet of four
ships. He explored the coasts of Central America, including Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. This
voyage was marked by hardships, including shipwrecks and mutiny. Columbus managed to return to Spain
in November 1504, concluding his final expedition.

Diego García de Moguer: He was a member of Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas in
1492, which reached the islands of the Caribbean, particularly Guanahani (now San Salvador in the
Bahamas) and the island of Cuba. This journey marked the initial encounter between Europeans and the
indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Alonso de Ojeda (1466-1515): Was a Spanish conquistador who sailed with Christopher Columbus on his
second voyage to the New World in 1493. In 1499, he explored the northern coast of South America,
specifically regions that are now part of Venezuela and Colombia, such as the Gulf of Venezuela, Lake
Maracaibo and the Guajira Peninsula.

Juan Ponce de León (1474-1521): Was a Spanish conquistador. He played a significant role in the early
exploration and colonization of Puerto Rico in 1508 as part of Juan Cordero 's expedition. Later in 1509 he
was appointed the governor of Puerto Rico. He explored the southeastern coast of what is now the United
States, particularly Florida, in 1513. Ponce de León is often associated with searching for the mythical
Fountain of Youth. He also participated in the conquest of the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the
Dominican Republic) under the command of Christopher Columbus.

Sebastian de Cabot (1474-1557): He was an Italian-born explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag. In
1497, he embarked on a journey along the coast of North America, likely reaching parts of Canada's east
coast and New England, thereby contributing to early European exploration in the Americas.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519): Was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. In 1513, he crossed the
Isthmus of Panama and became the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean, specifically the coast of
what is now Panama.
Juan Díaz de Solís (1470-1516): The Spanish explorer sailed to South America in 1508. He explored the
region around the Rio de la Plata, in present-day Uruguay and Argentina, contributing to early European
knowledge of the area.

Pedro de Mendoza (ca. 1487-1537): He was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition to what is now
Argentina in 1535. The expedition led to the founding of Buenos Aires along the Paraná River, although the
colony faced hardships and conflicts with indigenous peoples.

Juan de Garay (1528-1583): He was a Spanish conquistador who played a significant role in the
colonization of South America, founding cities in what is now Argentina and Uruguay, and contributing to
Spanish expansion in the region.

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521): He was a Portuguese explorer sailing under the Spanish flag. In 1519,
he began a journey to circumnavigate the globe, achieving the first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth.
Magellan's expedition reached parts of South America, particularly the southern tip of the continent, and
continued on to explore the Philippines, where he was killed.

Antonio Pigafetta (ca. 1491-1531): He was an Italian chronicler and explorer who joined Ferdinand
Magellan's expedition in 1519, which took him to parts of South America, the Philippines, and numerous
other locations on the first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth. Pigafetta's writings and descriptions of
the Patagonians are some of the earliest European records of these indigenous peoples

Juan Sebastian del Cano (ca. 1476-1526): Was a Spanish explorer who completed Magellan's expedition,
becoming the first person to sail around the world in 1522. His journey covered multiple continents and
oceans and marked a significant milestone in maritime history.

Sir Francis Drake (ca. 1540-1596): Was an English sea captain and privateer. Drake circumnavigated the
globe in the late 16th century, exploring the coast of California, raiding Spanish settlements in the
Caribbean and South America, and contributing to English naval and colonial interests.

Charles Darwin: (1809-1882) was a British naturalist and biologist. In 1831, he embarked on the HMS
Beagle for a five-year voyage that took him to various parts of the world, including the Galápagos Islands.
This journey greatly influenced his groundbreaking work on evolution and natural selection.

Roberts Fitzroy: (1805-1865) was an English naval officer and scientist. He captained the HMS Beagle
during its second voyage, which included Charles Darwin as a passenger. Fitzroy made important
contributions to meteorology and navigation during the expedition.

● The Treaty of Tordesillas was an important agreement signed on June 7, 1494, between the Kingdom
of Portugal and the Kingdom of Castile (a precursor to modern Spain) with the mediation of the
Catholic Church. This treaty was an attempt to resolve conflicts and disputes over newly discovered
lands in the New World, primarily those lands that Christopher Columbus had reached.This division
had significant implications for the future colonization and exploration of the Americas. It essentially
assigned Portugal control over the eastern part of South America and parts of Africa, while Spain
gained control over most of the Americas, including Central America, the Caribbean, and much of
North America.