Vikings
This Viking leader established a settlement in Greenland after exploring the land for three years.
A) Bjarni Herjulfson
B) Eric the Red
C) Leif Ericson
D) Harald Bluetooth
B) Eric the Red
Although Columbus is often credited with “discovering” the New World, these peoples had lived in North America thousands of years before his birth.
A) The Taino
B) The Vikings
C) Asians who crossed the Bering Strait
D) Europeans from Spain
C) Asians who crossed the Bering Strait
This Spanish nobleman searched for the Fountain of Youth in 1513 but instead discovered Florida.
A) Hernando de Soto
B) Francisco Pizarro
C) Juan Ponce de León
D) Vasco Núñez de Balboa
C) Juan Ponce de León
In 1524, this Italian sailing for France explored the Atlantic coast, including New York Bay and Rhode Island.
A) Jacques Cartier
B) Giovanni da Verrazano
C) Samuel de Champlain
D) Robert de La Salle
B) Giovanni da Verrazano
In 1001, this Viking explorer sailed west and reached a land rich with forests and grapes, which he named Vinland.
A) Leif Ericson
B) Eric the Red
C) Ragnar Lothbrok
D) Bjarni Herjulfson
A) Leif Ericson
Columbus’s three ships were called:
A) The Mayflower, the Pinta, and the Nina
B) The Santa Maria, the Mayflower, and the Nina
C) The Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria
D) The Trinidad, the Isabella, and the Salvador
C) The Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria
This conquistador defeated the Aztecs, killed Montezuma, and took their gold and silver.
A) Hernando Cortés
B) Francisco de Coronado
C) Panfilo de Narvaez
D) Vasco Núñez de Balboa
A) Hernando Cortés
This explorer discovered the St. Lawrence River in 1534 and gave France its first claim in North America, which he called “New France.”
A) Jacques Cartier
B) Samuel de Champlain
C) Louis Joliet
D) Father Marquette
A) Jacques Cartier
The Vikings first settled on this island west of Norway around A.D. 870, where they prospered as farmers and developed literature.
A) Greenland
B) Newfoundland
C) Iceland
D) Nova Scotia
C) Iceland
On October 12, 1492, Columbus landed on an island he named San Salvador. Where do most historians believe this was located?
A) Puerto Rico
B) The Bahamas
C) Hispaniola
D) Cuba
B) The Bahamas
In 1531, this conquistador conquered the Inca Empire in Peru and claimed the land for Spain.
A) Hernando de Soto
B) Francisco Pizarro
C) Cabeza de Vaca
D) Juan Ponce de León
B) Francisco Pizarro
the Great Lakes region.
A) Robert de La Salle
B) Jacques Cartier
C) Samuel de Champlain
D) Louis Joliet
C) Samuel de Champlain
Instead of instruments, Vikings used this method to guide them across the seas.
A) Maps and compasses
B) Wind currents
C) The stars
D) Animal migrations
C) The stars
Columbus thought he had reached the Indies when he landed in the New World, so he called the native people:
A) Spaniards
B) Indians
C) Tainos
D) Islanders
B) Indians
This explorer discovered the Mississippi River in 1541 but died of fever during his journey.
A) Francisco de Coronado
B) Hernando de Soto
C) Panfilo de Narvaez
D) Vasco Núñez de Balboa
B) Hernando de Soto
In 1673, these two men led an expedition down the Mississippi River, proving it flowed into the Gulf of Mexico and not the Pacific.
A) Robert de La Salle and Giovanni da Verrazano
B) Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet
C) Samuel de Champlain and Jacques Cartier
D) Hernando de Soto and Francisco Pizarro
B) Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet
Scientists confirmed the Viking sagas about Leif Ericson’s voyage when they discovered a settlement in this Canadian province.
A) Nova Scotia
B) Newfoundland
C) Quebec
D) Ontario
B) Newfoundland
Despite his voyages to the Americas, Columbus died in 1506:
A) Celebrated as Spain’s greatest explorer
B) Rich and powerful
C) Disgraced and poor
D) In France seeking support
C) Disgraced and poor
This explorer was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas, calling it the “South Sea.”
A) Vasco Núñez de Balboa
B) Ferdinand Magellan
C) Francisco de Coronado
D) Hernando Cortés
A) Vasco Núñez de Balboa
In 1682, this French explorer traveled down the Mississippi to its mouth and claimed the Mississippi Valley for France, naming it “Louisiana.”
A) Samuel de Champlain
B) Robert de La Salle
C) Jacques Cartier
D) Louis Joliet
B) Robert de La Salle