This is a PowerPoint I made to help my 5th grade students review for their Social Studies test on explorers.

1. Presented by Brian Klinck

2.  Europeans wanted Silks & Spices from Asia
 Also wanted to spread Christianity
 Used “new” technology
◦ Astrolabes
◦ Compasses

3.  Christopher Columbus
 Fernando Cortez
 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
 Juan Ponce de Leon

4.  Born in Italy; sailed for Spain
 Crew threatened mutiny
 Landed in 1492 on what is today the Bahamas
 Named place he landed San Salvador (Spanish
for Holy Savior).
 Thought he found Asia
 4 voyages
 Died never knowing he found “New World”

5.  Came over to Hispaniola on Columbus’ 2nd
voyage
 Conquered current day Puerto Rico while
looking for gold
 Looked for “Fountain of Youth” rumored to be
in present day Flordia
 Settled in present day Flordia and continued
looking for the “Fountain of Youth”

6.  Lived in Cuba, sailed under Spanish flag to
Mexico
 Conquered the Aztec Indians
 Robbed Aztecs of all of their gold
 Took some Aztecs to Spain, upon return he
surrounded Aztecs and ended up killing most
of them

7.  Lived in Mexico
 Traveled north with large band of soldiers to
find “One of the seven Cities of Gold”
◦ Was informed of this city from a priest
 Traveled to Grand Canyon & found nothing
 Natives told him of another large gold
deposit in present day Kansas
◦ Found nothing
 Considered a successful expedition by
missionaries

8.  John Cabot
 Sir Francis Drake
Holland
 Henry Hudson
France
 Robert de la Salle

9.  Born in Italy, sailed under the British flag.
 Was funded by merchants
 Explored present day Newfoundland.
 Thought he had found Asia
 Explored to the Chesapeake Bay

10.  Sailed under the English flag
 Explored from the southern tip of South
America up to the current day Canada/US
border.
 Was a pirate as well, robbing Spanish ships of
their gold
 After robbing quite a few ships, Drake sailed
to Asia and loaded up with spices
 Was able to pay back investors 50 times what
they paid for his voyage.

11.  Born in England; sailed under flag of Holland
 Tried to get to Asia by going north of Asia
 Forced to change routes and followed similar
course as Cabot to Chesapeake Bay
 Found Hudson River
 Drew 1st map of Hudson Bay
 Was mutinied by his crew in 1611. Sent off
ship without food nor water.

12.  French by birth; sailed under the French flag.
 Explored the Great Lakes, & the Mississippi River
 Claimed all lands near the Mississippi River for
the French Flag, but did not start any settlements
there
 On last voyage, he missed going up the
Mississippi River and started a settlement near
what is today Houston, TX.
 Got Indians mad at him; he wouldn’t trade with
them.
 Exploring party though he was crazy, so they
killed him and left him in the woods.

13.  New settlements
 Gold
 More land for Kings & Queens
 New more accurate maps
 New trade routes

14.  Contageous disease
 Smallpox
 Many Natives were killed
 No one ever found Northwest Passage (until
about 5 years ago as told in class)

15. 1. What were the 3 main reasons that
explorers came to the New World?
 Gold, Religion, & Land (or Glory)
2. Why did the Aztecs welcome Cortez into
their community?
 They believed that he was a god who was coming to
conquer them and tried to appease him.
3. Do you think that the king of France was
happy with de la Salle after he messed up
when trying to start a settlement near
present day Houston? Why or why not?

16. Information from:
 Hirsch, Jr. E.D. – Editor – History and
Geography, 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc.,
New Jersey.
 Bower, Bert & Jim Lobdell , History Alive!
America’s Past, 2003 by Teachers’ Curriculum
Institute, Palo Alto, California.