Christopher Columbus was an fifteenth-century Italian-born explorer who sailed for Spain. He claimed many of the Caribbean islands he "discovered" for the Spanish Crown. Columbus is a controversial figure in history, particularly in the U.S.. While he is celebrated figure in some places, his poor treatment of Native Americans is condemned.
Many places in the U.S. that once celebrated Columbus Day now celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead.
2. Ibn Battuta
Answer: Red Sea
Ibn Battuta was a medieval Moroccan sailor and explorer who traveled all around along the coasts of Africa. While he did explore the Southern Mediterranean Sea, he is more famous for his journeys to the Middle East and Asia. He crossed and explored the Red Sea several times on his journeys. He traveled as far south as Tanzania and as far east as China.
3. Vasco da Gama
Answer: "Indian Sea"
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries most famous for discovering a sea route between India and Europe. On his journey eastward, da Gama called what is now the Indian Ocean, the Indian Sea. In total, he made three voyages to India and died on his final trip.
He was given the title Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and all the Orient because of his accomplishments.
4. John Smith
Answer: Chesapeake Bay
John Smith was an English explorer and one of the most famous colonists in Jamestown. He was instrumental in the survival of the colony that got off to a rocky start. He is believed to be the first person to map the coast of the Chesapeake Bay in the early seventeenth century. Less famously, he also mapped the coast of New England.
5. Amerigo Vespucci
Answer: Gulf of Mexico
Amerigo Vespucci was the first European explorer to visit the Gulf of Mexico, which he did in 1497. Like Columbus, Vespucci also sailed for the Spanish Crown. Vespucci traveled the coastline all the way from Central America to the Florida Coast. He is also known for his journeys into South America and declared the so-called New World was not part of Asia, a fact already widely-believed.
6. Samuel de Champlain
Answer: Lake Huron
Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer of the seventeenth century best known for his explorations of New France (Canada) and New England. With the help of the Native Americans, de Champlain explored such bodies of water such as Lake Champlain, Ottawa River, the Bay of Fundy and Lake Huron.
7. Gennady Nevelskoy
Answer: Sea of Japan
Gennady Nevelskoy was a Russian explorer in the nineteenth century who explored and claimed many island in the Sea of Japan for Russia. Some of these islands remain disputed. Although many countries had sent explorers to the Sea of Japan, the Japanese worked hard to keep them out.
However, they had trouble repelling the Russians who used their islands in the sea as naval bases and for scientific purposes.
8. Otto Nordenskjold
Answer: Weddell Sea
Otto Nordenskjold was a Swedish explorer who led voyages to the Antarctic Region, including the Weddell Sea. He was once stranded with his crew on an island in the Weddell sea in the early 20th century. Despite the harsh conditions, only one person died before they were rescued. His ship was named the Antarctic.
9. David Livingstone
Answer: Nile River
David Livingstone was a 19th-century British explorer best known for his voyage to the Nile River and exploring Victoria Falls. He notoriously disappeared in Africa, leading Henry Morton Stanley to say "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" when he was located. Livingstone's African explorations led to the Scramble for Africa when many European countries quickly tried to colonize the continent.
10. Francisco de Orellana
Answer: Amazon River
Francisco de Orellana was a 16th-century Spanish conquistador who is believed to be the first European to explore and travel the entire length of the Amazon River in South America. De Orellana died on his second voyage, allegedly of grief, after his crew was poisoned by Natives. He also founded a number of Spanish settlements including Guayaquil, Ecuador.
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Leg 8 of the Sprint Revolutions sent players to the Amazing Trivia Race, asking them to complete one task of their choosing from a randomly determined race and leg.
