Previously.
The Explorers Continued
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Ferdinand Magellan: His fleet was the first to circumnavigate the globe. Mutiny and desertion followed their arduous journey. Magellan himself was actually killed in the Philippines in a dispute with the natives. A single ship with a skeleton crew made it back to Spain to many accolades.
Francis Drake: Also made an epic circumnavigation of the globe. Sponsored by the English crown, Drake was a privateer, attacking Spanish treasure ships and colonies along the way. He was also one of the commanders who successfully repelled the Spanish armada’s attempted invasion of England. William Dampier is another pirate circumnavigator.
James Cook: Discovered Hawaii (and is later killed there in a native dispute). Mapped the coast of New Zealand and made landfall in Australia. Circumnavigated the Antarctic Circle. Visited Easter Island (an interesting spot for possible adventures).
Abel Tasman: Dutch discoverer of Tasmania. Explored New Zealand and was attacked by Maori warriors.
La Perouse: French naval officer involved in several conflicts with the British. Visited Easter Island. Ran afoul of natives in Samoa. Was lost at sea. His ship’s wreckage was found decades later.
Vitus Bering: Commissioned by Czar Peter the Great to find a land bridge between Russia and Alaska in the Arctic. Died horribly as his ship wrecked on the now eponymous Bering Island.
Jacques Cartier and other French explorers of Canada started several colonies. They had generally courted friendlier relations with the Indians, though there were still plenty of conflicts. La Salle made a particularly impressive journey down the length of the Mississippi.
Lewis and Clark: American explorers looking for the source of the Missouri River in the Louisiana Purchase. Not much conflict with the natives thanks to their guide, Sacagewea. A similar exploration much earlier around the Gulf Coast by Spaniard Cabeza de Vaca was completely disastrous without native support. There were only five survivors out of an expedition of 300.
John Fremont: Explorer of California. Attempted to start a rebellion against Mexico there. Later became the military governor after the US annexation.
John McDouall Stuart: Crossed Australia from the south coast to the north. Attacked by Aboriginals along the way. Burke and Wills made a similar journey later, but a completely disastrous one.
To be continued.
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