1000 - Viking explorer - believed to be the first European to reach the Americas

1497 - Italian explorer- sailed around South America, realized it was a new continent (not Asia), the Americas are named after him

1513 - Spanish explorer - traveled across modern-day Panama to be the first European to see the Pacific Ocean

1513 - Spanish explorer - claimed modern-day Florida for Spain

to sail around the world

1517 - wrote 95 Thesis listing his objections of the Catholic teachings and selling of indulgences (forgiveness of sins)

16th Century (1500s) - led to the establishment of the Protestant (Christian) churches - led by Martin Luther for religious reasons and Henry VIII (8th) for political reasons

1450 - invention that affected the speed of the spread of information itself. Allowed people to read the Bible for themselves for the first time

1669 - French explorer - used a canoe to follow the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico - named present-day Louisiana after King Louis XIV (14th)

Ship used for long ocean travel. It could carry large amounts of supplies.

an instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic North

Oldest permanent European settlement in the United States - founded by Spain

a Spanish conqueror of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century (1500s)

resistance to disease

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

a Spanish war fleet of ships

instrument used to chart and measure stars for navigation on the seas

1609 - searched for a Northwest Passage from America to Asia

1533 - founded the Protestant Church of England after the Catholic Church would not grant him a divorce