Best of the Best: Explorers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sir Francis Drake

After making a name for himself as a privateer, Drake completed the second circumnavigation of the world in his ship, "Golden Hind" in 1577-1580, which led to the award of a knighthood from Elizabeth I in 1581. War with Spain was postponed a year after Drake attacked the port cities of Cadiz and Corunna, in 1587, destroying ships, supplies and capturing tons of barrel staves.

The following year, Drake served as second-in-command, and organized fire-ships, which caused the Spanish sea captains to break formation and flee from battle.

Answer: Leif Eriksson

After Leif's famous father, Erik, was banished, Leif was given the responsibility of introducing the Greenland group to Christianity. On one of his trips to Greenland, his ship was blown off course, and Leif named the site where they landed "Vinland".

There is still quite a bit of debate regarding which European was first to see the area, and first to set foot on it, but Leif was the first to create a settlement in the area. Even though permanent settlement was not made - the winters were too cold and the natives too unfriendly - the Vikings predated Columbus in America by approximately five hundred years.

Answer: David Livingstone

Livingstone was one of the first Europeans to make an transcontinental exploration of Africa from Luanda, Angola, on the Atlantic Ocean to Quelimane, Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean. By traveling lightly with few servants or guns, Livingstone was able to become friends with African chieftains who saw that he was not a threat; in addition, even though he preached a Christian message, he respected the beliefs of others and did not force his on unwilling people.

Although all of his endeavors were not entirely successful, Livingstone did chart the interior of Africa, spoke against the slave trade, and paved the way for future missionaries who would help improve the lives of the Africa people by initiating educational and health care programs.

Answer: James Cook

In his three exploratory voyages Cook became the first European to circumnavigate New Zealand and land on the eastern coast of Australia, as well as the first European to have contact with the Hawaiian Islands. After the initial contact, during which time Cook named the islands the Sandwich Islands, Cook sailed on to the western coast of North America, and mapped the coast all the way to the Bering Strait, continuing his exploration until blocked by ice. Cook eventually returned to the Sandwich Islands, where he was killed while attempting to kidnap the King of Hawaiʻi, Kalaniʻōpuʻu.

Answer: Sir Walter Raleigh

Sir Walter Raleigh made two voyages to South America in search of "El Dorado". However, he was also given a royal patent to explore Virginia, which led to eventual English colonization there. The charter specified that Raleigh had seven years to establish a settlement; if he was unsuccessful, he would lose the right to do so. Choosing others to attempt colonies at Roanoke Island while he participated in other ventures did not prove successful, due in part to war with Spain.

Some sources claim that after his voyages to South America, Raleigh introduced the white potato to Europe.

The story is also told that, believing him to be on fire, his servants drenched him with water after seeing smoke billowing from his tobacco pipe; tobacco would, of course, eventually become the cash crop which helped guarantee the perpetuation of the first successful English colony in America, Jamestown.

Answer: Giovanni Caboto

Many historians believe Caboto, or John Cabot, was the second European to explore mainland North American five hundred years after the Vikings! Sponsored by Henry VII of England, Cabot was commissioned to sail three times to the New World; while the first voyage was unsuccessful and he was forced to turn back, it was his 1497 trip that secured England's land claim in the New World. Little is known about the third voyage.

While some believe Cabot and his men perished during the trip, others suggest further exploration of the eastern coast of North America took place, perhaps as far as the Spanish territories.

Answer: Marco Polo

After a twenty-four year journey through Asia, Marco, Niccolò and Maffeo (his father and uncle) Polo returned to find their home, Venice, at war with the Republic of Genoa. Marco was captured; while imprisoned in Genoa he dictated a detailed account of his travels to India, China, and Japan to a fellow prisoner who is said to have embellished the stories a bit! "The Travels of Marco Polo" gave Europeans their first view of central and east Asia, and even if the story was embellished a bit, it opened up a new area about which Europeans knew little. Columbus was said to have owned a copy of the book, which he annotated, and other explorers, such as Bento de Góis, were also said to have been inspired by Polo's tales.

Answer: Roald Amundsen

As discoveries were made during the Age of Exploration, explorers searched for the perilous Northwest Passage that would keep their ships out of Spanish waters. With a small crew and ship, in 1903 Amundsen became the first to cross through a Northwest Passage that connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

He believed that his time in the Arctic, learning from the native people and his own experience, helped him be successful during his Antarctic Expedition of 1910-12, which was the first to reach the South Pole.

A second exploration of the Northwest Passage in 1918-20 was unsuccessful in drifting over the North Pole as was planned, however, in 1926 Amundsen was the leader of a successful air expedition to the North Pole.

Answer: Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India by sea, making it possible to acquire products that were in demand, such as pepper, in a safer way (believe it or not!) than traveling via the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and across the Arabian Peninsula.

His expedition left Lisbon on July 8, 1497, and traveled around the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first known Europeans to visit Mozambique, Mombasa, and Malindi, before entering the port of Calicut, India. Filling his ships with spices in India, da Gama returned to Portugal on August 29, 1499, with approximately half of his men, less one ship, and no commercial trading treaty with India. Nevertheless, the profits were substantial, and Portugal subsequently was able to become dominant power in the Indian Ocean trade.

Answer: Christopher Columbus

After unsuccessfully searching for a sponsor for years, Columbus may have tipped his hand a bit when Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain showed interest in his plan of reaching the Indies by sailing west. Nevertheless, they agreed to his terms: 10% of the wealth, the title "Admiral of the Ocean Sea", titles of nobility for his family, and rule over the lands he found.

Although it is a bit sad to read about his mistakes as Viceroy of the Indies, as well his death in relative poverty and obscurity, it cannot be disputed that the discoveries Columbus made on his four voyages of exploration led to European colonization of the Americas and had an enormous impact on the Western world.