FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about Circumnavigators
Quiz about Circumnavigators

Circumnavigators Trivia Quiz


The daring people who convinced themselves that the world is round.

A multiple-choice quiz by Mr5. Estimated time: 6 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. People Trivia
  6. »
  7. Explorers

Author
Mr5
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
109,907
Updated
Jun 09 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
1485
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. The first circumnavigator was, as you all know, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. He managed to convince the young king of Spain - Charles V - to grant him the chance of finding a new way to the Spice Islands. He set sail from Seville on September 20, 1519. After he eventually found the long expected southern strait (that would later bear his name), his fleet faced the seas of an ocean discovered only seven years before his expedition, by explorer Nunez de Balboa. Magellan named this ocean "Pacific", meaning... Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The second circumnavigation was undertaken by one of the greatest English sea captains ever - Sir Francis Drake. Although a privateer, the services he brought to the English Crown proved inestimable. The voyage he successfully led from beginning (1577) to end (1580) involved his remarkable navigating skills as well as his piracy experience. What was the name of the ship which made it all possible? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. From the second half of the 17th century up to the first decade of the 18th century the oceans were terrorized by buccaneers and pirates. From their "headquarters" in Tortuga Island the pirates ventured in great expeditions in search for the rich Spanish galleons, part of these voyages ending up as circumnavigations with important geographical discoveries. Moreover, one particular buccaneer even had literary talent as his memoires describing his travels around the world are considered to be one of the best travel writings ever. Who am I talking about? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Captain James Cook's journeys around the world may be the most prolific of all circumnavigations regarding the geographical discoveries. In his three long voyages he charted most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean and he also proved that there was neither a southern continent beneath polar latitudes nor a northern strait between the Pacific and the Atlantic. Although he criss-crossed the Pacific, he never reached one particular archipelago: Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. During the 18th and 19th century, the circumnavigations became more frequent. With Krusenstern's expedition, the Russians also engaged in the circumnavigation race. One of the most important Russian voyages explored the remote waters around the Antarctic continent which were not given much interest since Cook's travels. This expedition was commanded by: Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. With most of the geographical discoveries made, the circumnavigators changed their goals toward gathering scientific information. This is the case of Fitzroy's expedition. His ship, the "Beagle" was endowed with remarkable scientific equipment whose value may have been surpassed only by one particular member of the crew: Charles Darwin. Which of the following locations was studied by the young naturalist? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Travelling around the world aboard small ships exerted a strong attraction even since the 19th century. The navigator referred to in this question accomplished the first solitary circumnavigation recorded in history: Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The 20th century brought a new way of circumnavigating the world: flight. In the early days of flight, nobody believed that this would be possible but things seem to evolve so fast... So eventually, the 'ultimate' circumnavigation became the space flight around Earth in orbit. Who had this privilege for the first time? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Circumnavigating the globe is still a tempting adventure for many people. Some of them are pioneers by experimenting with new ways of achieving this, others are just trying to break records. What record do you think the Swiss Betrand Piccard and his British team-mate Brian Jones established ? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. This last question may seem a little bit odd because it's about Jules Verne and he had never gone too far from home. Still, he wrote probably the best book ever about a circumnavigation of the world.
How long did it take his famous character, Phileas Fogg to travel around the world?
Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The first circumnavigator was, as you all know, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. He managed to convince the young king of Spain - Charles V - to grant him the chance of finding a new way to the Spice Islands. He set sail from Seville on September 20, 1519. After he eventually found the long expected southern strait (that would later bear his name), his fleet faced the seas of an ocean discovered only seven years before his expedition, by explorer Nunez de Balboa. Magellan named this ocean "Pacific", meaning...

Answer: peaceful

After several months wandering through the Pacific islands the fleet finally reached the Philippines. Ironically, Magellan would get himself killed on land, in a raid against a local tribe, after he had successfully led the expedition up to that point.

However the circumnavigation would be complete even without its leader, as "Victoria", one of the five ships which left Spain, succeeded in getting back. The story of the first voyage around the world was recorded by Italian Antonio Pigafetta, one of the 18 lucky members of the expedition who made it back.
2. The second circumnavigation was undertaken by one of the greatest English sea captains ever - Sir Francis Drake. Although a privateer, the services he brought to the English Crown proved inestimable. The voyage he successfully led from beginning (1577) to end (1580) involved his remarkable navigating skills as well as his piracy experience. What was the name of the ship which made it all possible?

Answer: Golden Hind

Drake's career was truly outstanding. After his return, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth aboard his ship. His most important achievement may be considered his victory against the Spanish Armada, which stood at the basis of the English sea superiority for centuries to come.
3. From the second half of the 17th century up to the first decade of the 18th century the oceans were terrorized by buccaneers and pirates. From their "headquarters" in Tortuga Island the pirates ventured in great expeditions in search for the rich Spanish galleons, part of these voyages ending up as circumnavigations with important geographical discoveries. Moreover, one particular buccaneer even had literary talent as his memoires describing his travels around the world are considered to be one of the best travel writings ever. Who am I talking about?

Answer: William Dampier

Dampier's book 'A New Voyage Round the World' published in 1697, was a real success for it was reedited three times in less than two years. It describes his first circumnavigation (1679-1691), but there were two more to come. The second one was made between 1703-1706 and may have been considered a failure from his point of view because his ship was captured by the Dutch on the way back. Dampier's third and final travel around the Globe (1708-1711) took place under the command of another famous buccaneer, Woodes Rogers.

This voyage is notable for the rescuing of Alexander Selkirk, whose adventures inspired 'Robinson Crusoe'.
4. Captain James Cook's journeys around the world may be the most prolific of all circumnavigations regarding the geographical discoveries. In his three long voyages he charted most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean and he also proved that there was neither a southern continent beneath polar latitudes nor a northern strait between the Pacific and the Atlantic. Although he criss-crossed the Pacific, he never reached one particular archipelago:

Answer: Nippon

Cook's first circumnavigation (1768-1771) was made aboard the Endeavour. The mystery of the "southern continent" was partly revealed as he reached and charted the eastern coasts of New Zealand and Australia. This 'problem' would be solved in the second journey (1772-1774) when Cook became the first explorer to cross the Polar Circle. During this voyage he discovered an archipelago that today bears his name.

The objective of the third circumnavigation (1776-1779) was checked as Cook revealed that there was no passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Along his way north, Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, the place where he would be killed in 1779.
5. During the 18th and 19th century, the circumnavigations became more frequent. With Krusenstern's expedition, the Russians also engaged in the circumnavigation race. One of the most important Russian voyages explored the remote waters around the Antarctic continent which were not given much interest since Cook's travels. This expedition was commanded by:

Answer: F. Bellinghausen and M.P.Lazareev

The aim of the voyage was to explore the southern part of the Pacific as well as to record astronomical, meteorological and oceanographical observations. Bellinghausen was one of the preeminent navigators of his times; he also participated in Krusenstern's circumnavigation.

His second in command, Lazareev was also an experienced navigator who had previously volunteered in a British commercial voyage around the world. Their expedition diminished the doubts about navigating in the treacherous Antarctic waters.

They are also credited for being the first navigators who spotted the coast of the frozen continent.
6. With most of the geographical discoveries made, the circumnavigators changed their goals toward gathering scientific information. This is the case of Fitzroy's expedition. His ship, the "Beagle" was endowed with remarkable scientific equipment whose value may have been surpassed only by one particular member of the crew: Charles Darwin. Which of the following locations was studied by the young naturalist?

Answer: all of these

Apart from Fitzroy and King's research (over 80 maps and plans which detailed the South American coast) the expedition was very "productive" thanks to Darwin's rich scientific material, gathered from all the places he visited. His highly detailed field journal permitted him to formulate some important observations that would form the basis for his revolutionary theory of evolution.

Another theory which he put up after the journey and which is now unanimously accepted is the one explaining the forming of the Barrier-Reef.
7. Travelling around the world aboard small ships exerted a strong attraction even since the 19th century. The navigator referred to in this question accomplished the first solitary circumnavigation recorded in history:

Answer: Joshua Slocum

The solo journey of American captain Joshua Slocum began in 1895, when he was 51. Measuring 11.2 metres length and 4.3 metres width the "Spray", an old boat which he personally repaired, left the docks of Boston. After a detour to the strait of Gibraltar, Slocum crossed back over the Atlantic, further following mainly the same course used by his great 'ancestor', Magellan.

The "Spray" returned to Boston in 1898 - it had covered 46000 miles. Slocum kept on navigating until 1909, when he perished in a shipwreck - ironically he didn't know how to swim...
8. The 20th century brought a new way of circumnavigating the world: flight. In the early days of flight, nobody believed that this would be possible but things seem to evolve so fast... So eventually, the 'ultimate' circumnavigation became the space flight around Earth in orbit. Who had this privilege for the first time?

Answer: Yuri Gagarin

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was put in orbit in 1961 aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. The period of orbital revolution was about 90 minutes (he circled the globe almost 1577000 times faster than Magellan), the maximum altitude reached was 327000 metres, and the maximum speed was 28260 km/h.

As this lucky man later stated: "Circling the Earth in the orbital spaceship, I marvelled at the beauty of our planet."
9. Circumnavigating the globe is still a tempting adventure for many people. Some of them are pioneers by experimenting with new ways of achieving this, others are just trying to break records. What record do you think the Swiss Betrand Piccard and his British team-mate Brian Jones established ?

Answer: first hot-air balloon circumnavigation

The circumnavigation took place in 1999.
This was Betrand Piccard's third attempt to circle the globe in a hot-air balloon. The journey lasted 19 days, 1 hour and 49 minutes, having covered 42810 km in a non-stop, non-refueled flight.
For the record, the first non-stop plane flight around the world was made in 1949, by a team of US Airforce planes; the first helicopter circumnavigation belongs to Ross Perot Jr and Jay Colburn -1982; as for being the first to swim around the world the race is still on and will probably be for a long time.
10. This last question may seem a little bit odd because it's about Jules Verne and he had never gone too far from home. Still, he wrote probably the best book ever about a circumnavigation of the world. How long did it take his famous character, Phileas Fogg to travel around the world?

Answer: 80 days

Jules Verne's interest in geography combined with his ability to imagine possible future technological developments proved to be a successful recipe for his countless books. One of his most popular novels, "Around the World in 80 Days" was adapted for stage, and later for television enjoying a lot of success all over the world.

The influence of this book is still felt today as there is an international round-the-world race for the 'Jules Verne Trophy'.
Source: Author Mr5

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor thejazzkickazz before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/28/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us