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Quiz about Great Explorers and Navigators 14001600
Quiz about Great Explorers and Navigators 14001600

Great Explorers and Navigators 1400-1600 Quiz


In this quiz I will ask you about some great explorers and navigators from the 15th and 16th centuries.

A multiple-choice quiz by author. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
author
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
198,244
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
9 / 15
Plays
1223
- -
Question 1 of 15
1. 1487: This Portuguese explorer rounded the Cape of Good Hope. Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. 1492: This Italian mariner and navigator landed in the Bahamas.

Answer: (Two Words)
Question 3 of 15
3. 1498: This Portuguese explorer completed the first voyage from Portugal to India.

Answer: (Three Words)
Question 4 of 15
4. 1500: This Portuguese explorer accidentally discovered Brazil while sailing for India. Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. 1519-22: This Portuguese explorer was the leader of the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe. Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. 1499: This Italian-born maritime explorer discovered the mouth of the river Amazon.

Answer: (Two Words)
Question 7 of 15
7. 1497: This Italian discovered the coast of Newfoundland.

Answer: (Two Words (English spelling))
Question 8 of 15
8. 1512: This Spanish governor of Puerto Rico discovered Florida. Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. 1513: This Spanish explorer crossed the isthmus of Panama and discovered the Pacific Ocean and named it the Mar de Sur ("South Sea"). Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. 1519: This Spanish conquistador landed at Veracruz, Mexico to march inland towards the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán. Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. 1440s: This Portuguese prince and navigator organized and financed exploration of the west coast of Africa down to Guinea Bay.

Answer: (Three Words (English spelling))
Question 12 of 15
12. 1511-14: This Spanish conquistador was sent on an expedition to conquer Cuba. Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. 1535: This French navigator and explorer discovered the St.Lawrence river.

Answer: (Two Words)
Question 14 of 15
14. 1532-33: This Spanish conquistador landed in Peru and occupied the Inca capital, Cuzco. Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. 1596: This Dutch explorer discovered Bear Island and Spitsbergen. Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 08 2024 : MrNobody97: 15/15
Feb 18 2024 : johnnycat777: 12/15

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. 1487: This Portuguese explorer rounded the Cape of Good Hope.

Answer: Bartholomeu Dias

Bartholomeu Dias called the place Cabo das Tormentas, "Storm Point". His journey ended at Great Fish River, where the crew forced him to turn. He drowned off the Cape of Good Hope as a member of an expedition led by Pedro Cabral.
2. 1492: This Italian mariner and navigator landed in the Bahamas.

Answer: Christopher Columbus

Columbus reached one of the islands in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. Later he visited Cuba and Hispaniola (now Dominican Republic/Haiti) where he established a minor colony.
3. 1498: This Portuguese explorer completed the first voyage from Portugal to India.

Answer: Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama founded colonies in Calicut and Cochin. Along with Goa these were the first Portuguese colonies in India. He died in Cochin in 1524.
4. 1500: This Portuguese explorer accidentally discovered Brazil while sailing for India.

Answer: Pedro Cabral

Pedro Cabral was the first European to enter Brazil and he acquired it for his native country, Portugal.
5. 1519-22: This Portuguese explorer was the leader of the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe.

Answer: Ferdinand Magellan

Magellan reached the Magellan Strait in 1520 and named it after himself. He was killed by locals in the Philippines, but his ship was taken safely back to Spain.
6. 1499: This Italian-born maritime explorer discovered the mouth of the river Amazon.

Answer: Amerigo Vespucci

The continent of America was named after Amerigo Vespucci by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in 1507. Vespucci was born in Florence but became a naturalized Spanish citizen in 1501. On his voyage he first explored the coast of Venezuela.
7. 1497: This Italian discovered the coast of Newfoundland.

Answer: John Cabot

The Italian name of this man is Giovanni Caboto. He settled in Bristol, England about 1490. Under letters patent from king Henry VII he sailed from Bristol in 1497. The land he first sighted was probably Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He claimed North America for England; Newfoundland was not colonized until the 17th century.
8. 1512: This Spanish governor of Puerto Rico discovered Florida.

Answer: Juan Ponce de Leon

Ponce de Leon served as a governor in Hispaniola, later in Puerto Rico. He was also made a governor of Florida, but didn't stay for long. He retired to Cuba and died there from a wound inflicted by a poisoned arrow. Florida was Spanish from 1513 to 1821, except 1763-83 when it was British. The USA bought it in 1821.
9. 1513: This Spanish explorer crossed the isthmus of Panama and discovered the Pacific Ocean and named it the Mar de Sur ("South Sea").

Answer: Vasco Nunez de Balboa

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean. He acquired both the ocean and the Panama isthmus for Spain. A city in Panama (Canal Zone) was named after him. Later, Magellan renamed it the Pacific Ocean.
10. 1519: This Spanish conquistador landed at Veracruz, Mexico to march inland towards the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán.

Answer: Hernan Cortes

Hernan Cortes crushed the Aztec empire and its capital 1519-21 and was made the governor of "New Spain" by Charles V.
11. 1440s: This Portuguese prince and navigator organized and financed exploration of the west coast of Africa down to Guinea Bay.

Answer: Henry the Navigator

Henry the Navigator was a Portuguese prince with a court set up at Sagres, Algarve. He also erected an observatory and school of scientific navigation. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to settle in West Africa in the 1440s.
12. 1511-14: This Spanish conquistador was sent on an expedition to conquer Cuba.

Answer: Diego de Velazquez

The island was colonized immediately by the Spaniards, who founded Havana in 1519. Velazquez was the governor of Cuba 1511-24.
13. 1535: This French navigator and explorer discovered the St.Lawrence river.

Answer: Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier made three voyages (1534-41) to North America searching for a westerly route to Asia. He founded the French colony in Canada.
14. 1532-33: This Spanish conquistador landed in Peru and occupied the Inca capital, Cuzco.

Answer: Francisco Pizarro

Pizarro and Almagro sailed for Peru in 1526, and in 1531 began the conquest of the Incas. Pizarro caught the Inca king Atahualpa in 1532 and founded Lima, later the capital of Peru.
15. 1596: This Dutch explorer discovered Bear Island and Spitsbergen.

Answer: Willem Barents

Barents led three out of four of the Dutch expeditions sent to find a northern route to China and Japan. He died at Novaya Zemlya in 1597.
Source: Author author

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor fringe before going online.
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