North America Atlantic Ocean
John Cabot was one of the first European explorers to come to Canada. He was a sea captain and mapmaker. In 1497, he sailed from England to look for a new route to Asia. Instead he found Canada s east coast. English merchants outfitted Cabot s ship, the Matthew. While they were looking for a shorter route to Asia, European explorers found a new land. The explorers met Aboriginal Peoples in the new land they visited. The explorers began to trade with them. Sometimes the explorers also fought This section describes some of the first European explorers who came to Canada. Europeans began to look for a new water route to Asia in the 1400s. They wanted to trade for spices, silks, and jewels in the countries of Asia. The 1400s were exciting years in Europe. While they were looking for a shorter route to Asia, European explorers found a new land. The explorers met Aboriginal Peoples in the new land they visited. The explorers began to trade with them. Sometimes the explorers also fought Whereas explorers of the previous European age of exploration were primarily searching for new routes to the riches of Asia, those of this second age sailed the seas primarily, in Braudel's words, to obtain new information about geography, the natural world, and the mores of different peoples..  Many explorers thought they could find a route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of Asia, they found North America. For a long time, explorers tried to sail around or find a passage through North America. They called the route they were looking for the Northwest Passage. While they were looking for a shorter route to Asia, European explorers found a new land. The explorers met Aboriginal Peoples in the new land they visited. The explorers began to trade with them. Sometimes the explorers also fought After some exploration he sailed further east, and nine days later was the first European known to sight New Zealand, which he named Staten Landt on the assumption that it was connected to an island (Staten Island, Argentina) at the south of the tip of South America. The Spanish Empire. During the fifteenth and the sixteenth century the states of Europe began their modern exploration of the world with a series of sea voyages. The Atlantic states of Spain and Portugal were foremost in this enterprise though other countries, notably England and the Netherlands, also took part. National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center Explorers of the Pacific Northwest North West Fur Company-Alexander MacKenzie : (1789) Discovers route to the Arctic Ocean (MacKenzie River) and becomes first European to cross the North American Continent north of Spanish possessions.  It was the period in which global exploration started with the Portuguese discovery of the Atlantic archipelago of the Azores, the western coast of Africa, and discovery of the ocean route to the East in 1498, and the trans-Atlantic Ocean discovery of the Americas on behalf of the Crown of Castile (Spain) in 1492. France, the Netherlands, and England were left without a sea route to Asia, either via Africa or South America. When it became apparent that there was no route through the heart of the Americas, attention turned to the possibility of a passage through northern waters, which English called the Northwest Passage. Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan's expedition of 1519-1522 became the first expedition sailing west from Europe to Asia, and the first to cross the Pacific. It also com … pleted the first http://wiki.answers.com/topic/circumnavigation of the earth. The advantages was Portuguese ships began making expedition in search of a sea route to Asia. The disadvantages of sailing west from Europe to Asia is they had no maps that sh … owed the world correctly. The Age of Discovery is an informal and loosely defined European historical period from the 15th century to the 18th century, marking the time in which extensive overseas exploration emerged as a powerful factor in European culture. France, the Netherlands, and England were left without a sea route to Asia, either via Africa or South America. When it became apparent that there was no route through the heart of the Americas, attention turned to the possibility of a passage through northern waters, which English called the Northwest Passage.
http://www.masters.ab.ca/bdyck/early-canada/explorers/ http://www.masters.ab.ca/bdyck/early-canada/explorers/ http://www.pbs.org/wayfinders/polynesian3.html http://www.masters.ab.ca/bdyck/early-canada/explorers/ https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/European_History/Exploration_and_Discovery http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/files/ED_GUIDE_FINAL.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Discovery http://www.answers.com/Q/What_two_oceans_did_explorers_cross_when_they_sailed_west_from_Europe_to_Asia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Discovery
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