Francis Drake, Francisco Pizarro, And Vasco Da Gama

The age of exploration was a time where Europeans looked outward and traveled across the world for land, riches, and knowledge. This age much like the Renaissance and the Protestant reformation was predicated on the fact that people were curious and wanted to learn, and this drive made them go look towards the sea and want to explore. I believe that Francis Drake, Francisco Pizarro, and Vasco Da Gama were all three key explorers of the time period. All three of these explorers made great advancements or had great achievements for their countries, and this is why they were crucial to the age of exploration. Vasco Da Gama was a famous explorer who I believe was both a hero and villain. Vasco was a portuguese explorer and navigator. Growing …show more content…
He was one of the most infamous and effective spanish conquistadors. Pizarro came from a poor family and background, he was the son of an army officer and servant. After joining the spanish army and gaining a reputation, he then started building upon the person we know today. I like millions of other people when thinking of Pizarro think of him as a terrible person. This is because contributed to the destruction of the inca empire, just so that he could gain wealth and riches for his country. One of his most famous accomplishments was the successful kidnapping and killing of the Inca king, Atahualpa. He did so by using horses, gunpowder, and other european advancements foreign to the incas, to help scare them and ultimately defeat them. After their defeat, he totally wiped out their culture by forcing them to convert to christianity. He also looted the empire, enslaved many people, and then most others died from the european diseases brought over. Even though he annihilated an entire civilization he did found the now capital of Peru and establish spanish roots in Peru and South America. But even though he did do some good for Spain and Europe, I believe the bads things he did to accomplish these tasks far outweigh the good and that is why I believe that Francisco Pizarro should be considered as a …show more content…
He was born in Devonshire, England around 1540. And came a from a poor background with his father working as a shearman. And even though he came from a poor background he still was able to make a difference, don’t judge a book by their cover cause everyone has the potential to be great. But Drake also learned most of his nautical knowledge from a young age when working on trade ships. He as an adult worked with a slave trader around africa, and going on trading trips to the new world. After gaining experience he was hired by Queen Elizabeth to be a privateer. So he then took a fleet of ships and plundered and looted spanish fleets and settlements. Through these travels he went down to south america and through the strait of magellan, he also went up both the western coast of north and south america. And all the way up to vancouver, during this exploration he mapped and charted these previously unexplored areas. And although he is recognized as an English hero whose victories against the Spanish made it so that they could never fully recover, I believe his greatest achievement was saving the remaining settlers of the doomed Roanoke settlement and bringing them back to Europe so that could survive. So for the reasons, that he helped the English become a global superpower, help save English settlers, and chart unknown lands I believe Francis Drake should be considered as a