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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Mediterranean World on the Eve of Conquest

For Students 9th - 10th
The Library of Congress provides an essay on the reasons for exploration during the 15th century.
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Website
PBS

Pbs Nova: The Vikings

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site, a companion to the NOVA program on PBS, examines the Vikings and whether or not their reputation as "barbarians" is founded. Content includes a look at a Viking Village, the Norse people, Viking ships, the Viking alphabet, and...
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Website
University of Calgary

European Voyages of Exploration: 15th & 16th Centuries

For Students 9th - 10th
This award-winning website from the University of Calgary's History Department is both impressive and extensive. It focuses on Portuguese and Spanish expeditions of the 15th and 16th centuries (the sitemap provides a good outline of...
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Website
Mariners' Museum and Park

Mariners' Museum: Vasco Da Gama

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, highlighting his accomplishments to European exploration. Readers will find an accompanying accounts of his voyages and a collection of the tools he and his crews used for navigating the...
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Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Conquest, American Beginnings: 1492 1690

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A series of illustrations and accounts of Spanish conquest of Indians that reflect the fascination with and the brutality directed against native cultures.
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Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Hernando Cortes 1485 1547

For Students 5th - 7th
Furnished is a brief summary of the life and explorations of Spanish explorer, Hernando Cortes. Take a look at the photos and maps of his journey of what today is called Mexico.
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Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca

For Students 3rd - 8th
Gain insight into the life and adventures of Spanish explorer, Cabeza de Vaca, whose expeditions led him to Texas and Mexico.
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eBook
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: First European Exploration and Exploitation

For Students 9th - 10th
Essay on the exploitation and decimation of indigenous peoples as a result of European exploration, settlement, and colonization in North and South America.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: 1492: An Ongoing Voyage

For Students 9th - 10th
An exhibit by the Library of Congress supplies diverse facts on the famous 1492 voyage. The exhibition first examines the encounter between the European explorers and the native people. They explore five geographical areas: The Caribbean...
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Unit Plan
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: Age of Exploration

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about the exploration of the Americas. Site includes primary source documents, videos, essays, and lesson plans to help students research the exploration of the new land.
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Handout
State of Florida

Florida Historical Resources: Florida History: Exploration and Colonization

For Students 3rd - 8th
In the mid-1700s, the control of Florida moved back and forth between the Spanish and English. Learn about the historic events which contributed to this through this resource.
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Website
University of Calgary

University of Calgary: Latin America & the Conquistadors

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about the way the Spanish conquistadors were able to conquer the indigenous people they met.
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Biography: Explorers

For Students 1st - 9th
Learn about the adventures of famous explorers including Sacagawea, Lewis and Clark, Marco Polo, Sir Edmund Hillary and Ferdinand Magellan