Explorers

Front

First European to set foot on the Americas. I arrived here with my Viking friends in the year 1000 AD.

Back

Leif Erickson

Answer explanation

Leif Erickson was the first European to reach the Americas around 1000 AD, well before Columbus and others. His Viking expedition landed in what is now Newfoundland, Canada.

Front

I realized that Columbus was NOT in Asia, but they had been in a new land. I was a map maker and some say America was named after me.

Back

Amerigo Vespucci

Answer explanation

Amerigo Vespucci was a map maker who recognized that the lands discovered by Columbus were not Asia but a new continent. America is named after him, distinguishing him from explorers like Marco Polo and Magellan.

Front

I took control of the Inca empire and claimed it for Spain.

Back

Francisco Pizarro

Answer explanation

Francisco Pizarro was the Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that conquered the Inca Empire, claiming it for Spain in the 16th century. The other options, like Hernando Cortes, were involved in different conquests.

Front

I started a school for navigators and people who wanted to go out exploring.

Back

Prince Henry

Answer explanation

Prince Henry, known as Henry the Navigator, established a school for navigators in Portugal, promoting exploration and maritime knowledge, unlike the other figures who were explorers themselves.

Front

I was the person who named the Pacific Ocean. My men were among the first to travel around the world, but unfortunately I died in battle in the Philippine Islands.

Back

Ferdinand Magellan

Answer explanation

Ferdinand Magellan named the Pacific Ocean and led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe. He died in battle in the Philippines, confirming him as the correct answer.

Front

I wrote a book about the riches that I found in China.

Back

Marco Polo

Answer explanation

Marco Polo is known for his travels to China and his writings about the wealth and riches he encountered there, making him the correct choice for the book about riches found in China.

Front

I am the conquistador that went looking for the Seven Cities of Gold. Though I never found these cities, I did conquer much of what is today the southwestern U.S. for Spain.

Back

Francisco Coronado

Answer explanation

Francisco Coronado is the correct answer as he led an expedition in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Gold and conquered large areas of the southwestern U.S. for Spain, despite never finding the cities.

Front

Who crossed the Isthmus of Panama and found the Pacific Ocean as he climbed over a mountaintop?

Back

Vasco Nunez de Balboa

Answer explanation

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas after crossing the Isthmus of Panama in 1513, making him the correct answer.

Front

Who believed they could read Asia by traveling west across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 and asked the king and queen of Spain to pay for their journey?

Back

Christopher Columbus

Answer explanation

The statement refers to Christopher Columbus, who sought funding from Spain to find a westward route to Asia in 1492. The other figures mentioned were explorers but did not make this specific journey.

Front

I am a conquistador that conquered the Aztec empire and built Mexico City.

Back

Hernando Cortes

Answer explanation

Hernando Cortes is the correct answer as he was the conquistador who led the expedition that resulted in the fall of the Aztec Empire and the establishment of Mexico City.