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Pope Alexander VI

2009-06-15T00:09:01Z

DanielRJ:

{{RefAppeal}}
'''Pope Alexander VI''' was born in Spain, January 1, 1431. Alexander was the one who named the [[Line of Demarcation]] that awarded some of the new world discoveries to [[Spain]] and others to [[Portugal]].

Alexander had always wanted to a be a [[priest]] but his family discouraged the idea.

He was the father of infamous military leader [[Cesare Borgia]] and even more infamous [[Lucrezia Borgia]].

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander VI, Pope}}

[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Spanish People]]
[[Category:Renaissance]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Francisco de Bobadilla

2009-06-15T00:08:57Z

DanielRJ:

#REDIRECT [[Christopher Columbus]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Henry VIII

2009-06-15T00:08:51Z

DanielRJ:

'''Henry VIII''' (June 28, 1491, to January 28, 1547) was the King of [[England]] and Lord of [[Ireland]] from April 22, 1509, until his death. A larger-than-life man and one of England's most famous monarchs, he was the second monarch of the [[Tudor Dynasty]] succeeding his father [[Henry VII]] and was one of the most powerful and formative rulers in British history. Henry was a powerfully built, athletic, attractive, domineering charismatic man, educated and accomplished. He was the last English king to rule with absolute power. His need for a male heir to perpetuate the Tudor Dynasty led to his six marriages. He fashioned the [[English Reformation]] as a compromise between the [[Lutheran]]s and [[Calvinist]]s on the one hand and the [[Catholic]]s on the other, and made the [[Church of England]] subordinate to the king. His public image is lustful, egotistical, deceitful, opinionated, and insecure when dealing with his wives, and his vast wasteful luxuries and useless wars depleted the treasury.
[[File:Henry8.jpg|thumb|280px]]
== Early life==
Henry was born on the 28th June 1491, the third child and second son of [[Henry VII]] (Tudor) and Elizabeth of York. Henry, as a younger son, was not heir to the throne. His father intended him for the church, and so he received an excellent education. The death of his elder brother Arthur (1502) made him heir to the throne. His father was heir to the Lancastrian claim to the throne, and his mother was the daughter of the Yorkist King [[Edward IV]]. Henry thus symbolized in his person the union of the houses of Lancaster and York whose rivalry had caused the [[Wars of the Roses]]. Unlike his father, therefore, he could believe himself to be the unquestioned and unquestionable king of God's choice.

==Marriages==
[[File:Henry8-wives.jpg|thumb|290px]]

Henry's wives:
*[[Catherine of Aragon]]
*[[Anne Boleyn]]
*[[Jane Seymour]]
*[[Anne of Cleves]]
*[[Katherine Howard]]
*[[Catherine Parr]]

His legal children: (all of whom became monarchs in their own right)
*[[Mary I]]
*[[Elizabeth I]]
*[[Edward VI]]

===First marriage: Katherine of Aragon===
His brother Arthur in 1501 married [[Katherine of Aragon|Katherine]] (1485–1536), the daughter of [[Ferdinand and Isabella]] of Spain. After Arthur's death in 1502, when Henry was ten years old, for reasons of state it was decided to marry Henry to his brother’s widow, who was several years his senior. This raised the question of whether it was moral and legal for Henry to married his late brother’s wife?

For her part, Catherine stated and always affirmed that her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated and she was therefore able to marry Henry. Because her parents wanted the marriage, they did not want there to be any doubt and so they petitioned the Pope to grant a dispensation allowing Catherine and Henry to marry - a dispensation that was granted. These matters would be of great significance later.

== Henry’s accession to the throne ==

===Anne Boleyn===
By 1527 Henry had fallen for [[Anne Boleyn]] (1507–1536). Anne was not content to be a mistress, which set about a chain of events that shook up the nation. Henry sought papal consent to have his marriage to Katherine annulled since she had previously been married to his brother. The papacy, which was under a great deal of pressure from the Spanish not to grant the request, refused. This brought about the downfall of Cardinal Wosley in Henry's sight since he had virtually guaranteed their acceptance. Henry then made the decision to break from the Catholic Church who he claimed had no right to interfere in the political succession of England, which he stated was occurring since he had no male heir through Katherine. Catholic clergy then had to sign an oath to the king over the Pope. Many could not sign -- and died. With Henry now head of the Church, his divorce was granted and he married Anne in 1533 - a very unpopular queen with the people who had loved Katherine. Anne had a daughter in 1533 (the future Queen [[Elizabeth I]]) and not a son like Henry desired. She became pregnant again, but her son was stillborn. (In terms of shaping policy, Anne, who was strongly committed to Protestantism, was the most influential wife. Historians have vigorously debated explanations for the trial and execution of Anne in 1536. One school emphasizes contentious court factions in which Queen Anne was an innocent pawn. G. W. Bernard (1991) argues that she and the five men executed with her were probably guilty of incest and adultery as charged. Both points of view were also expressed by contemporary diplomats reporting from London, who may have been misled by rumors and deliberate government misinformation. Use of traditions of courtly love to explain Anne's relationship with the other accused (opening herself to slander) is speculative. Direct evidence for actual guilt is not convincing. Warnicke (1993) offers a controversial explanation: Anne gave birth to a deformed fetus in January, 1536, provoking in Henry, who learned of the miscarriage and its circumstances after some delay, both rage and fear, as well as a certainty of his consort's adultery and witchcraft, an explanation necessary not only to his psyche but to the preservation of the reputation of his kingdom and the schismatic church that he headed.<ref> G. W. Bernard, "The Fall of Anne Boleyn." ''English Historical Review'' 1991 106(420): 584-610. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/573258 in Jstor]; Retha M. Warnicke, "The Fall of Anne Boleyn Revisited." ''English Historical Review'' 1993 108(428): 653-665. Issn: 0013-8266 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/574751 in Jstor]</ref>

===Later marriages===
In 1536 the death of Katherine of Aragon freed Henry for an unquestionably lawful marriage. In 1536 he chose [[Jane Seymour]] (1509-1537), who died the next year of natural causes after providing a son, the future King [[Edward VI]]. In 1540, Cromwell's Protestant policy involved marriage to [[Anne of Cleves]] (1515–57), whom Henry disliked from the first. The marriage remained unconsummated and ended in annulment. In August 1540 Henry made a love match with [[Catherine Howard]] (1521–1542), but being far younger than him, she may not have shared a mutual attraction; she was beheaded, accused of adultery. Finally in 1543, he settled for a more placid consort in [[Catherine Parr]] (1512–48).

By 1540 the vigor had gone out of the reign and out of Henry. The debacle of the Cleves marriage cost Cromwell his head and Henry his leading minister. Overconfidence drew the king once more into a continental and Scottish war (1542-1546), a war that gained no glory but whose expense ruined the English economy. In 1541 Henry became king of Ireland (previously he was "Ruler of Ireland.")

==Religion==
Henry started as a staunch Catholic and wrote ''Assertio Septem Sacramentorum'', a treatise in which he defended the Church against [[Martin Luther]] and asserted the primacy of the [[Pope]]. The Pope gave Henry the title Fidei Defensor [[Defender of the Faith]], a style still used by the English monarch today.

However, Henry broke with the Pope on two issues, the divorce, and control over the Church inside England, as he declared himself head of the Church in England. Disagreement with Henry on religious issues was a political affront, and he could not tolerate it. Some wealthy or intellectual Catholics fled to France; others stayed quiet. Moderate reform took place in the 1530s because Queen Anne and top aides Thomas Cranmer and Cromwell had the king's ear and carried out attacks on the old religion. Queen Anne patronized and promoted clergy and bishops of a reforming turn of mind; Cromwell (1485?–1540), the Earl of Essex, was a convinced reformer and in effect the ruthless and unpopular prime minister from 1532 until he fell from favour and was beheaded in 1540. Cranmer (1489–1556) was archbishop of Canterbury after 1533. <ref> After Henry's death Cranmer wrote much of the first ''Book of Common Prayer'' (1549, revised 1552), the centerpiece of the Anglican Church.</ref> Henry persecuted of those who still held to Papal Supremacy, and encouraged Protestant ideas to flourish. Protestantism was officially established during the reign of Henry’s son, [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]].

==Power and authority==
Henry was the main founder of the Royal Navy; he expanded it from 5 to 53 ships.

Financially, the reign was a near-disaster. After inheriting a prosperous economy, augmented by seizures of church lands heavy spending and high taxes damaged the economy.

From 1514 to 1529 [[Thomas Wolsey]] (1473–1530), a Catholic cardinal, served as lord chancellor and practically controlled domestic and foreign policy for the young king. He negotiated the truce with France that was signaled by the dramatic display of amity on the Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520). He switched England back and forth as an ally of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Wolsey centralized the national government and extended the jurisdiction of the conciliar courts, particularly the Star Chamber. His use of forced loans to pay for foreign wars angered the rich, who were annoyed as well by his enormous wealth and ostentatious living. Wolsey disappointed the king when he failed to secure a quick divorce from Queen Katherine. The treasury was empty after years of extravagance; the peers and people were dissatisfied and Henry needed an entirely new approach; Wolsey had to be replaced. After 16 years at the top he lost power in 1529 and in 1530 was arrested on false charges of treason and died in custody. Henry then took full control of his government, although at court numerous complex factions continued to try to ruin and destroy each other.

Elton (1962) argues there was a major Tudor revolution in government. While crediting Henry with intelligence and shrewdness, Elton finds that much of the positive action, especially the break with Rome, was the work of Thomas Cromwell and not the king. Elton sees Henry as competent, but too lazy to take direct control of affairs for any extended period; that is, the king was an opportunist who relied on others for most of his ideas and to do most of the work. Henry's marital adventures are part of Elron's chain of evidence; a man who marries six wives, Elton notes, is not someone who fully controls his own fate. Elton shows that Thomas Cromwell had conceived of a commonwealth of England that included popular participation through Parliament and that this was generally expressed in the preambles to legislation. Parliamentary consent did not mean that the king had yielded any of his authority; Henry VIII was a paternalistic ruler who did not hesitate to use his power. Popular "consent" was a means to augment rather than limit royal power.<ref> G. R. Elton, ''The Tudor Revolution in Government: Administrative Changes in the Reign of Henry VIII'' (1962) [http://www.questia.com/read/2993196?title=The%20Tudor%20Revolution%20in%20Government%3a%20Administrative%20Changes%20in%20the%20Reign%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]; Elton, ''Reform and Reformation: England, 1509-1558'' (1977) is sharply hostile toward the king--an "ego-centric monstrosity," whose reign "owed its successes and virtues to better and greater men about him; most of its horrors and failures sprang more directly from himself." p. 43</ref>

==Reformation==
Henry never formally repudiated the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, but he declared himself supreme head of the church in England. This, combined with subsequent actions, eventually resulted in a separated church, the [[Anglican Church|Church of England]]. The pope behaved more as an Italian prince involved in secular affairs, which often obscured his religious role. The Church treated England as a minor stepchild, allowing it one cardinal out of fifty, and no possibility of becoming pope. For reasons of state it was increasingly intolerable that major decisions in England were settled by Italians. The divorce issue exemplified the problem but was not itself the cause of the problem. As long as Cardinal Wolsey dominated the government the widespread sentiment for reform could go nowhere.<ref> A. F. Pollard, ''Henry VIII'' (1905) provides the classic statement of the Henrician position, esp. pp 230-38, noting that Spain and France stayed loyal because they controlled the papacy.</ref>

Henry's reformation of the English church involved more complex motives and methods than his desire for a new wife and an heir. Henry asserted that his first marriage had never been valid, but the divorce issue was only one factor in Henry's desire to reform the church. In 1536-37, he instituted a number of statutes-the act of appeal, the act of succession, the act of supremacy and others-that dealt with the relationship between the king and the pope and the structure of the Church of England. During these years, Henry also suppressed monasteries and pilgrimage shrines in his attempt to reform the church. The kins was always the dominant force in the making of religious policy; his policy, which he pursued skilfully and consistently, is best characterized as a search for the middle way.<ref> G. W. Bernard, ''The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church'' (2005)</ref>

Questions over what was the true faith were resolved with the adoption of the orthodox "Act of Six Articles" (1539) and a careful holding of the balance between extreme factions after 1540. Even so the era saw movement away from religious orthodoxy, the more so as the pillars of the old beliefs, especially Thomas More and John Fisher, had been unable to accept the change and had been executed in 1535 for siding with the pope against the king.

Critical for the Henrician reformation was the new political theology of obedience to the prince that was enthusiastically adopted by the Church of England in the 1530s. It reflected was [[Martin Luther]]'s new interpretation of the fourth commandment and was mediated to an English audience by [[William Tyndale]]. The founding of royal authority on the Ten Commandments, and thus on the word of God, was a particularly attractive feature of this doctrine, which became a defining feature of Henrician religion. Rival tendencies within the Church of England sought to exploit it in the pursuit of their particular agendas. Reformers strove to preserve its connections with the broader framework of Lutheran theology, with the emphasis on faith alone and the word of God, while conservatives emphasized good works, ceremonies, and charity. The Reformers linked royal supremacy and the word of God in order to persuade Henry to publish the "Great Bible," an English translation that was a formidable prop for his new-found dignity.<ref> Richard Rex, "The Crisis of Obedience: God's Word and Henry's Reformation." ''Historical Journal'' 1996 39(4): 863-894. Issn: 0018-246x [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2639860 in Jstor]</ref>

===Dissolving the monasteries===
England was covered with many medieval monastaries that owned large tracts of land worked by tenants. As a religious institution they were almost defunct and had become handicaps to the economy. Henry dissolved them (1536-1540) and transfered of a fifth of the England's landed wealth to new hands. The program was designed primarily to create a landed gentry beholden to the crown, which would use the lands much more efficiently.

Henry made radical changes in traditional religious practices. He ordered the clergy to preach against superstitious images, relics, miracles, and pilgrimages, and to remove most candles. The catechism of 1545, called the ''King's Primer,'' left out the saints. Latin rituals gave way to English. Shrines to saints were destroyed—including the popular one of St Thomas at Canterbury; relics were ridiculed as worthless old bones.

The reforms alienated pious folk who believed in the old rituals depended on the monasteries for religious devotions and helped provoke the great northern rising of 1536-1537, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. It was the only real threat to Henry's security on the throne in all his reign. Some 30,000 rebels in nine groups were led by the charismatic Robert Aske, together with most of the northern nobility. Aske went to London to negotiate terms; once there he was arrested, charged with treason and executed. About 200 rebels were executed and the disturbances ended.<ref> M. L. Bush, "The Tudor Polity and the Pilgrimage of Grace." ''Historical Research'' 2007 80(207): 47-72. Issn: 0950-3471 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]; Geoffrey Moorhouse, ''The Pilgrimage of Grace: The Rebellion That Shook Henry VIII's Throne'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrimage-Grace-Rebellion-Shook-Throne/dp/1842126660/ref=pd_ts_b_33?ie=UTF8&s=books excerpt and text search]</ref> Elsewhere the changes were accepted and welcomed, as those who clung to Catholic rites kept quiet or moved in secrecy; they would reemerge in the reign (1553-58) of Henry's daughter Mary.

==Public image and memory==
Henry worked hard to present an image of unchallengeable authority and irresistible power. He executed at will, beheading more English notables than any monarch before or since. The roll of heads included two wives, one cardinal, twenty peers, four leading public servants, and six of the king's close attendants and friends, not to mention various heads of monasteries. In addition Cardinal Wolsey died in prison.

A big, strong man (over six foot tall and broad in proportion)<ref>People were smaller in those days. A comparable man today would be a star athlete at 6'5" and 250 pounds.</ref>, he excelled at jousting and hunting. More than pastimes, they were political devices that served multiple goals, from enhancing his athletic royal image to impressing foreign emissaries and rulers, to conveying Henry's ability to suppress any rebellion. Thus he arranged a jousting tournament at Greenwich in 1517, where he wore gilded armour, gilded horse trappings, and outfits of velvet, satin and cloth of gold dripping with pearls and jewels. It suitably impressed foreign ambassadors, one of whom wrote home that, "The wealth and civilisation of the world are here, and those who call the English barbarians appear to me to render themselves such." Henry finally retired from the lists in 1536 after a heavy fall from his horse left him unconscious for two hours, but he continued to sponsor two lavish tournaments a year.<ref>Steven Gunn, "Tournaments and early Tudor chivalry," ''History Today,'' (June 1991), Vol. 41, #6 in [[Academic Search Premier]]; James Williams, "Hunting and the Royal Image of Henry VIII" ''Sport in History'' 2005 25(1): 41-59. Issn: 1746-0263 </ref> He then started adding weight and lost that trim athletic look that had made him so handsome; Henry's courtiers began dressing in heavily padded clothes to emulate--and flatter--their increasingly stout monarch.

Henry loved palaces; he began with a dozen and died with fifty-five, in which he hung 2,000 tapestries.<ref>Simon Thurley, "Palaces for a nouveau riche king." ''History Today,'' (June 1991), Vol. 41, #6 in [[Academic Search Premier]]</ref> He took pride in showing off his collection of weapons, which included exotic archery equipment, 2,250 pieces of land ordnance and 6,500 handguns.<ref> Jonathan Davies, "'We Do Fynde in Our Countre Great Lack of Bowes and Arrows': Tudor Military Archery and the Inventory of King Henry VIII," ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'' 2005 83(333): 11-29. Issn: 0037-9700 </ref>

Henry was an intellectual; the first well-educated English king, he was thoroughly at home in his well-stocked library; he personally annotated many books and wrote and published his own book.

To promote the public support for the reformation of the church, Henry had numerous pamphlets and lectures prepared. For example, Richard Sampson's ''Oratio'' (1534) was a legalistic argument for absolute obedience to the temporal power as vested in divine law and Christian love ("obey my commandments"). Sampson cited historical precedents (now known to be spurious) to support his claim that the English church had always been independent from Rome.<ref>Andrew A. Chibi, "Richard Sampson, His Oratio, and Henry VIII's Royal Supremacy." ''Journal of Church and State'' 1997 39(3): 543-560. Issn: 0021-969x Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

At the popular level theater and minstrel troupes funded by the crown traveled around the land to promote the new religious practices and ridicule the old. In the polemical plays they presented, the pope and Catholic priests and monks were mocked as foreign devils, while the glorious king was hailed as a brave and heroic defender of the true faith.<ref> See Thomas Betteridge, "The Henrician Reformation and Mid-Tudor Culture." ''Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies'' 2005 35(1): 91-109. Issn: 1082-9636 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. Original documents are collected by the [http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/index.html Centre for Research in Early English Drama at Victoria University, Toronto]</ref>

Around 1613 [[William Shakespeare]] wrote a favorable play about the king, "The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth."

===Recent popular culture===
[[File:Henry8-laughton.jpg|thumb|270px]] Henry VIII is the most famous of all English kings, and has been portrayed n many ways. Charles Laughton's Oscar-winning Henry in "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (directed by Alexander Korda 1933) portrayed the macho, totally self-regarding, totally self-absorbed Henry; it created the popular notion that the Tudors had weak table manners. Laughton shows a lustful monarch, a cock among a bevy of sweet chicks, each with eyes on the royal bed; a man who sees women as objects.<ref> See Greg Walker, ''The Private Life of Henry VIII: A British Film Guide'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1860649092 excerpt and text search]; also [http://www.amazon.com/Private-Life-Henry-VIII/dp/B000085EF9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1211114013&sr=1-1 DVD]</ref> The same theme appears in the 1994 comedy "Carry On Henry."<ref> see [http://www.amazon.com/Carry-Henry-Sid-James/dp/B000QWGWE0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1211113897&sr=8-5 DVD]</ref> Television's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" (1970) was more accurate Keith Michell's performance was deeper than Laughton's, but as the title shows, the focus was once again on Henry the married man.

==Further reading==
* Gardner, James. "Henry VIII" in ''Cambridge Modern History'' vol 2 (1903), a brief political history [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/cmh/cmh213.html online edition]
* Ives, E. W. "Henry VIII (1491–1547)", in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004), online at [[OUP]], a good starting point
* Graves, Michael. ''Henry VIII'' (2003) 217pp, topical coverage
* Lindsey, Karen. ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/read/6981860?title=Divorced%2c%20Beheaded%2c%20Survived%3a%20A%20Feminist%20Reinterpretation%20of%20the%20Wives%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]
* Pollard, A.F. ''Henry VIII'' (1905) 470 pp; the first modern biography, accurate and still valuable [http://books.google.com/books?id=q0cDAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:henry+intitle:viii+inauthor:pollard&lr=&as_brr=0 online edition]
* Scarisbrick, J. J. ''Henry VIII'' (1968) 592pp, a favourable scholarly biography; his Henry was "a formidable, captivating man who wore regality with a splendid conviction. But easily and unpredictably his great charm could turn into anger and shouting.... He was high-strung and unstable; hypochondriac and possessed of a strong streak of cruelty."
* Smith, Lacey Baldwin. ''Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty'' (1971), a leading scholar writes the psycho-history of an egotistical border-line neurotic given to great fits of temper and deep and dangerous suspicions, with a mechanical and conventional, but deeply-held piety, and no better than a mediocre intellect to hold these contradictory forces in harness. [http://www.questia.com/read/85955084?title=Henry%20VIII%3a%20The%20Mask%20of%20Royalty online edition]
* Weir, Alison. ''Henry VIII, King and Court'' (2001). 640pp a flattering portrait [http://www.amazon.com/Henry-VIII-King-His-Court/dp/034543708X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211115337&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

==See also==
* [[Elizabeth I (England)]]
==Bibliography==
===Biographical===
* Erickson, Carolly. ''Mistress Anne: The Exceptional Life of Anne Boleyn.'' (1984) 464 pp. popular biography
* Cressy, David. "Spectacle and Power: Apollo and Solomon at the Court of Henry VIII." ''History Today'' 1982 32(oct): 16-22. Issn: 0018-2753 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] Traces the transition of Henry from Renaissance monarch (the youthful Apollo) to Reformation patriarch (the aging Solomon) using the graphics and visual images displayed in his court, festivals, and kingdom.
* Gardner, James. "Henry VIII" in ''Cambridge Modern History'' vol 2 (1903), a brief political history [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/cmh/cmh213.html online edition]
* Graves, Michael. ''Henry VIII'' (2003) 217pp, topical coverage
* Ives, E. W. "Henry VIII (1491–1547)", in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004), online at [[OUP]], a good starting point
* Pollard, A.F. ''Henry VIII'' (1905) 470 pp; the first modern biography, accurate and still valuable value[http://books.google.com/books?id=q0cDAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:henry+intitle:viii+inauthor:pollard&lr=&as_brr=0 online edition]
* Rex, Richard. ''Henry VIII and the English Reformation.'' (1993). 205 pp.
* Ridley, Jasper. ''Henry VIII.'' (1985). 473 pp. popular biography
* Scarisbrick, J. J. ''Henry VIII'' (1968) 592pp, a favourable scholarly biography; his Henry was "a formidable, captivating man who wore regality with a splendid conviction. But easily and unpredictably his great charm could turn into anger and shouting.... He was high-strung and unstable; hypochondriac and possessed of a strong streak of cruelty."
* Smith, Lacey Baldwin. ''Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty'' (1971), a leading scholar writes the psycho-history of an egotistical border-line neurotic given to great fits of temper and deep and dangerous suspicions, with a mechanical and conventional, but deeply-held piety, and no better than a mediocre intellect to hold these contradictory forces in harness. [http://www.questia.com/read/85955084?title=Henry%20VIII%3a%20The%20Mask%20of%20Royalty online edition]
* Starkey, David. ''Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Six-Wives-Queens-Henry-VIII/dp/069401043X/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211115162&sr=1-9 excerpt and text search]
* Starkey, David. ''The Reign of Henry VIII: Personalities and Politics'' (1986). 174pp
* Weir, Alison. ''Henry VIII, King and Court'' (2001). 640pp a flattering portrait [http://www.amazon.com/Henry-VIII-King-His-Court/dp/034543708X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211115337&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Weir, Alison. ''The Children of Henry VIII.'' (1996). 400 pp.

===Scholarly studies===
* Bernard, G. W. ''The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church.'' (2005). 712 pp. [http://books.google.com/books?id=p2MOt53sCCgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:King%27s+intitle:Reformation+inauthor:bernard&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=WTvpwPbd8txXGzbj0RP3pA9Qut8 excerpts and text search]
* Bernard, G. W. "The Making of Religious Policy, 1533-1546: Henry VIII and the Search for the Middle Way." ''Historical Journal'' 1998 41(2): 321-349. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2640109 in Jstor]
* Bernard, G. W. ''War, Taxation, and Rebellion in Early Tudor England: Henry VIII, Wolsey, and the Amicable Grant of 1525.'' (1986). 164 pp
* Elton, G. R. ''The Tudor Revolution in Government: Administrative Changes in the Reign of Henry VIII'' (1953; revised 1962), major interpretation [http://www.questia.com/read/2993196?title=The%20Tudor%20Revolution%20in%20Government%3a%20Administrative%20Changes%20in%20the%20Reign%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]
** Coleman, Christoper, and David Starkey, eds. ''Revolution Reassessed: Revision in the History of Tudor Government and Administration'' (1986), evaluates Elton thesis
* Elton, G. R. ''Reform and Reformation: England, 1509-1558'' (1977), hostile to Henry
* Fielder, Martha Anne. "Iconographic Themes in Portraits of Henry VIII." PhD dissertation Texas Christian U. 1985. 232 pp. DAI 1985 46(6): 1424-A. DA8517256 Fulltext: [[ProQuest Dissertations & Theses]]
* Fox, Alistair, and John Guy, eds. ''Reassessing the Henrician Age: Humanism, Politics and Reform 1500-1550'' (1986), 242pp; advanced essays by scholars
* Head, David M. "Henry VIII's Scottish Policy: a Reassessment." ''Scottish Historical Review'' 1982 61(1): 1-24. Issn: 0036-9241 Argues that if Henry intended to take over Scotland then his 1542 victory at Solway Moss was the opportune moment, for the French were unable to intervene, the Scottish nobility was in disarray, and the infant Mary was in line for Scotland's throne. Instead, Henry adopted a policy similar to that in Ireland, since he could not afford outright conquest or the luxury of diplomacy.
* Loades, David. ''Henry VIII: Court, Church and Conflict'' (2007) 248pp; by a leading scholar [http://www.amazon.com/Henry-VIII-Court-Church-Conflict/dp/1903365996/ref=pd_ts_b_10?ie=UTF8&s=books excerpt and text search]
* MacCulloch, Diarmaid, ed. ''The Reign of Henry VIII: Politics, Policy, and Piety.'' (1995). 313 pp. essays by scholars
* Mackie, J. D. ''The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'' (1952), a political survey of the era [http://www.questia.com/read/8546253?title=The%20Earlier%20Tudors%2c%201485-1558 online edition]
* Lindsey, Karen. ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/read/6981860?title=Divorced%2c%20Beheaded%2c%20Survived%3a%20A%20Feminist%20Reinterpretation%20of%20the%20Wives%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]
* Slavin, Arthur J., ed. ''Henry VIII and the English Reformation'' (1968), readings by historians. [http://www.questia.com/read/97615501?title=Henry%20VIII%20and%20the%20English%20Reformation online edition]
* Smith, H. Maynard. ''Henry VIII and the Reformation'' (1948) [http://www.questia.com/read/8851653?title=Henry%20VIII%20and%20the%20Reformation online edition]
* Walker, Greg. ''Writing under Tyranny: English Literature and the Henrician Reformation.'' (2005). 556 pp.

===Historiography and memory===
* Head, David M. "'If a Lion Knew His Own Strength': the Image of Henry VIII and His Historians." ''International Social Science Review'' 1997 72(3-4): 94-109. Issn: 0278-2308 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Hoak, Dale. "Politics, Religion and the English Reformation, 1533-1547: Some Problems and Issues." ''History Compass'' 2005 3 (Britain and Ireland): 7 pp Issn: 1478-0542 Fulltext: [[Blackwell Synergy]]
* Ives, Eric. "Will the Real Henry VIII Please Stand Up?" ''History Today'' 2006 56(2): 28-36. Issn: 0018-2753 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
===Primary sources===
* Williams, C. M. A. H. ''English Historical Documents, 1485-1558'' (1996) [http://www.questia.com/read/104189416?title=English%20Historical%20Documents%2c%201485-1558 online sources]
==External links==
* [http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudoressay.htm articles by experts]
====notes====
<references/>

{{Nb_english_monarchs}}
[[Category:Anglicans]]
[[Category:English History]]
[[Category:Renaissance]]
[[Category:Reformation]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 8}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Samuel de Champlain

2009-06-15T00:06:50Z

DanielRJ:

'''Samuel de Champlain''' (1567-1635) was a [[French]] [[cartography|cartographer]] who explored the [[New World]], founding a colony in [[Quebec]] in 1608. He also discovered [[Lake Champlain]], which is named after him. He is often often called the Father of Canada. [[File:Champlain.jpg|thumb|280px]]
==Life==
Champlain was born in Brouage, France, about 1567. He learned seamanship from his father, the master of a fishing vessel. He fought in the army of King Henry IV during the civil wars in Brittany, from about 1593 to 1598, attaining the junior rank of maréchal des logis, or billeting officer. He went to Spain, and through the favor of his uncle, who was a shipmaster in the Spanish service, made a journey to the West Indies and Mexico. On returning to France in 1601 he wrote a picturesque account of his travels.<ref> However some scholars belive it is a hoax.</ref>
==Discovery==
Eager for travel and discovery, Champlain found a place on the 120-ton ''Bonne Renommée'', which sailed for Canada in the spring of 1603 to explore the upper St. Lawrence and to buy furs from the Indians. He ascended the river in a pinnace as far as the Lachine Rapids, at the present Montreal, where he dealt with the Algonquin Indians. On his return to France, he published a record of his journey, an appeal for exploration and colonization.
==Canada==
In 1604 Champlain joined the North American expedition of Pierre de Monts as geographer and cartographer. The first disastrous winter, in which 35 out of 79 men died of scurvy, was passed on Ste.-Croix Island, in the estuary that now marks the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick. The two following winters were spent at Port Royal, near Digby, Nova Scotia. Champlain and his party passed the summers exploring the rivers of Maine and charting the coast as far south as Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard; they were possibly the first Europeans to visit the site of Boston, but made no claims.

In 1608 he returned to Canada to found a year-round trading post. On July 3, 1608, he landed at the present site of Quebec City and established there the first settlement north of Florida which has been continuously occupied. The winter was brutal; only eight of the 24 colonists survived.
==Explorer==
In the summer of 1609 Champlain with newcomers from France again ascended the St. Lawrence. With two other Frenchmen he joined a war party of Algonquins and allied Hurons; they went by canoe up the Richelieu River to the great lake to which Champlain gave his name, then southward to (probably) the site of Ticonderoga. Champlain and his companions were the first recorded white men to set foot on the soil of New York State, although Giovanni da Verrazano had visited New York Bay in 1524. When his party met the Iroquois Indians, the traditional enemies of the Algonquins, Champlain killed three of the enemy by a single discharge of his arquebus.

In 1615 with 12 French companions he made his way to the Huron country by Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. There he joined a Huron expedition against the Iroquois, crossed Lake Ontario at its eastern end, and attacked the Iroquois' Onondaga stronghold, which was probably situated on Lake Onondaga. He was defeated by the Iroquois and wintered with the Hurons. His detailed description of the Hurons was the first written record of this group's lifestyle.
==Governor==
In 1612 Champlain was appointed lieutenant of Canada under an honorary governor. He later became governor of [[New France]] and ruled the little colony with wisdom and rectitude. His dream was to establish in the northern continent a self-sufficient Christian empire where French and Indians would mingle harmoniously. To further his ideas he returned often to France to importune the king and wealthy entrepreneurs for aid. His most important book, the ''Voyages of 1632,'' a history, a guide, and a prophecy of Canada's greatness, was effective propaganda for his cause and encouraged thousands of immigrants.

In 1629, when the English occupied Quebec, Champlain was carried, a prisoner, to England. When New France was restored to France, Champlain returned to his colony as governor. A man of adventure, courage and foresight, Champlain was also profoundly religious.

==Bibliography==
* Bishop, Morris. ''Champlain: the life of fortitude'' (1948).
* Dix, Edwin Asa. ''Champlain, the Founder of New France'' (1903), 246 pages [http://books.google.com/books?id=rgAFAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Champlain+date:1900-1922&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1 complete edition online]
* Fischer, David, Hackett. ''Champlain's Dream'' (2008), major interpretive study by leading scholar. [http://www.amazon.com/Champlains-Dream-David-Hackett-Fischer/dp/1416593322/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240057441&sr=8-5 excerpts and text search]
* Morison, Samuel Eliot. ''Samuel De Champlain, Father of New France'' (1972), standard scholarly biography
* [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=34237&query=Samuel%20AND%20de%20AND%20Champlain Trudel, Marcel. "Champlain, Sanuel de," ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'']
===Primary sources===
* Samuel de Champlain. ''Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, 1604-1618'' (1907) 377 pages [http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/c#a2130 online edition]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champlain, Samuel de}}

{{Nb_explorers}}
[[Category:Canadian History]]
[[category:Quebec]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Jacques Cartier

2009-06-15T00:06:44Z

DanielRJ:

'''Jacques Cartier''' (1491-1557) was a French mariner whose exploration of the North American coast laid the foundation for later French claims to [[Canada]]. He attempted to find the [[Northwest Passage]] in order to sail to [[China]].

When Jacques Cartier reached North America, he sailed past the southern tip of [[Newfoundland]], where he discovered the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. During his explorations, Cartier traded with the many American Indians he met. Cartier also claimed land for the French. Jacques Cartier's exploration gave France a piece of Canada and his explorations opened the way for trade between the Indians and the French.

Also, Jacques Cartier is a city in [[Quebec]]. Jacques Cartier merged with the city of Longueuil in 1961. The Jacques Cartier bridge connects Montreal to Longueuil.
[[category:Quebec]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartier, Jacques}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Sir Francis Drake

2009-06-15T00:06:40Z

DanielRJ:

#REDIRECT [[Francis Drake]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Henry the Navigator

2009-06-15T00:06:35Z

DanielRJ:

'''Henry the Navigator''' (1394-1460, in Portuguese '''Henrique o Navegador''') was a prince of [[Portugal]], third son of John I. He won acclaim in a series of campaigns against the [[Moors]] in [[Morocco]]; however he is famous for his support for, and patronage of, the seamen who made the many voyages of discovery down the west coast of [[Africa]] in attempts to find a sea route to [[India]].

His inspiration led to the rediscovery (and subsequent colonization) of Madeira (1420) and the Azores (1427). By 1444 one of his captains had rounded Cape Blanco and explored the beginnings of sub-Saharan Africa. Slaves and gold were brought back to Portugal, and suddenly the voyages became profitable. Captains were now less afraid to leave the coast so avoiding shoals and reefs and unfavourable currents that sweep up the coast of Africa. In 1456 the [[Cape Verde Islands]], 600 km off the coast of Africa, were discovered. By the time of his death, in spite of his ban on the kidnapping of Africans for the [[slave]] trade, the business was booming, and his captains were starting to push down past what is now [[Sierra Leone]].

His inspiration outlived him. In 1488 [[Bartholomew Diaz]] rounded Cape of Good Hope, and about ten years later [[Vasco da Gama]] reached India.

He based himself at Sagres on the southwest tip of Portugal where he built a naval arsenal and observatory. He brought in experts from [[Europe]] and beyond, [[Arab]]s and [[Jew]]s; mathematicians and geographers, [[ship]] builders and cartographers. His captains went to sea with the best ships of the era, and with as much knowledge as was available.

It is to the shame of a later hero of the Age of Discovery that [[Francis Drake]], in 1587, destroyed Sagres, and all in it, in a senseless act of vandalism.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry the Navigator, Prince}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Francisco Pizarro

2009-06-15T00:05:00Z

DanielRJ:

[[Image:FranciscoPizarro.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
'''Francisco Pizarro''' (1471-1541) was a Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of [[Peru]], betraying and eventually killing their emperor, [[Atahualpa]]. The ancient Peru city of Cuzco was completely destroyed and replaced with the city of [[Lima]]. While in Peru, Pizzaro also discovered the greatest silver mine in the Americas, the vast majority of which was traded with [[China]], whose economy was based on silver. Like Cortes' conquests, Pizzaro's conquests were facilitated by the use of [[horse]]s, superior weapons, and devastating European diseases like [[smallpox]], against which the Incans had no immunity.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizarro, Francisco}}
{{Nb_explorers}}
[[Category:Military Commanders]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Ferdinand Magellan

2009-06-15T00:03:26Z

DanielRJ:

[[Image:Ferdinand_Magellan.jpg|thumb|200px|Anonymous [[portraits|portrait]] of Ferdinand Magellan]]'''Ferdinand Magellan''' was born in 1480 to a noble family in Sabrosa, [[Portugal]]. For the first thirty-nine years of his life, Magellan had a very adventurous life. First he sailed with Francisco De Almeida to [[India]], then he served for ten years in the Portuguese army fighting seven years to secure trade in India, and then he fought against the Moors in northern Africa for three years. During these ten years he received wounds that left him partially lame for life. The Portuguese king Manuel refused to raise his pension and dismissed him from his service. This enraged Magellan so much that he went and offered his service to Charles, the king of [[Spain]].

Magellan was one of the people who believed that there was a passage through the Americas that would enable ships to find a much faster way to the Indies. He and his partner Ruy Faleiro convinced the King of Spain that because of the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]], the Spice Islands were under Spanish dominion. Charles agreed to give Magellan Five ships for his quest: the Trinidad, the Victoria, the San Antonio, the Concepcion, and the Santiago.

Magellan then crossed the Atlantic and landed on the coast of [[Brazil]]. After sailing up and down the coast for a several months, Magellan’s fleet was forced to stop and winter in [[Patagonia]]. During the winter one of the ships was destroyed in a violent storm and a group of men mutinied, but when spring came Magellan was ready to sail.

[[Image:Detail_from_a_map_of_Ortelius_-_Magellans_ship_Victoria.jpg|thumb|left|Detail from map of Magellan's ship ''Victoria'']]Finally Magellan found a strait at 49.5 degrees south latitude. One of the ships mutinied rather than face the perils of navigating the strait, but the remaining three ships made it through safely. (These straits are now called “The Strait of Magellan”) In March of 1521, after a long and difficult Pacific crossing, Magellan reached [[Guam]]. He had accomplished his goal of sailing to the Spice Islands by sailing west.

Magellan was killed in a skirmish with some natives when he was in the [[Philippines]]. This left one of the ships without an adequate crew, so it was burned. This left the Trinidad and the ''Victoria'' loaded with cloves, and on their way home. After sailing for some weeks, the Trinidad sprung a leak, and the ''Victoria'' left for Spain without her. The Trinidad was captured by a Portuguese ship, and only four of her crew ever returned to Spain.

When the ''Victoria'' came back to Spain, her battered and bruised crew were heroes. They had done what no other group of men had ever done before, and circumnavigated the globe.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magellan, Ferdinand}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Spanish Empire]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Charles V of Spain

2009-06-15T00:03:08Z

DanielRJ:

'''Charles V''' (1500-1558) was the grandson of King [[Ferdinand]] of [[Aragon]]. On his grandfather’s death he became the next king of [[Spain]] in 1516 (He took the title Charles I). When the Holy Roman Emperor [[Maximilian]] died, Charles was elected to succeed him in 1519. Charles oversaw the trial of [[Martin Luther]].

Charles upheld [[Cortes]]’s claims to New Spain and supported the conquest of the Americas. He also commissioned [[Magellan]]’s Journey in which he circumnavigated the globe. During his reign, Spain financed the conquest, and colonization of [[Peru]] and [[Mexico]].

In 1556 Charles abdicated and went to live in a monastery. Later that year he died.

[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Spanish History]]
[[Category:Spanish Empire]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Joan Sebastian del Cano

2009-06-15T00:01:40Z

DanielRJ:

#REDIRECT [[Juan Sebastian de Elcano]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Lope de Aguirre

2009-06-15T00:01:35Z

DanielRJ:

'''Lope de Aguirre''' lived from 1510 to 27 October 1561 and was a [[Spain|Spanish]] conquistador in [[South America]]. Aguirre was renowned for his treacherous and brutal exploits, He was executed for his rebellion against the Spanish monarchy.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguirre, Lope de}}
[[category:Spain]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Giovanni da Verrazano

2009-06-15T00:01:12Z

DanielRJ:

'''Giovanni da Verrazano''' was born in [[Tuscany]], [[Italy]] in 1480<ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552283/Giovanni_Da_Verrazzano.html Giovanni da Verrazano] in MSN Encarta</ref>. He was a [[Florence|Florentine]] explorer, sailing under the French flag.

He was the first of the European explorers to see [[New York]] and Narragansett bays.

The Italian Historical Society of America played a big part in having a bridge going from New York Harbor to [[Staten Island]] and Brooklyn named The [[Verrazano Narrrows Bridge]]. The society is also responsible for the placement of the Verrazzano Monument at Battery Park in New York.

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verrazano, Giovanni da}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Hernando Cortez

2009-06-15T00:00:38Z

DanielRJ:

#REDIRECT [[Hernan Cortes]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Vasco Nunez de Balboa

2009-06-15T00:00:17Z

DanielRJ:

#REDIRECT [[Vasco Nuñez de Balboa]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Diego de Velázquez

2009-06-15T00:00:08Z

DanielRJ: Created page with ' Category:Age of Exploration'

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Pedro Alvarez Cabral

2009-06-14T23:59:34Z

DanielRJ:

'''Pedro Alvarez Cabral''' (c.1467-1520), was the [[Portuguese]] navigator and commander most notable for the [[European]] discovery of [[Brazil]].

Whilst of noble birth, not much is known of his early life. Like [[Vasco da Gama]] he was considered more of a soldier-nobleman than a seaman when chosen to repeat da Gama’s venture in pursuit of trade with [[India]] - with a larger, better armed and manned fleet, and with missionary priests aboard.

In early 1500 the fleet left [[Lisbon]], retraced the now well-known route to the [[Cape Verde Islands]] then struck due south, as if to track down the centre of the [[Atlantic]], well west of da Gama’s route three years previously. South of the [[equator]] and into the SE [[trade winds]] he veered south west and made landfall on the coast of Brazil. They only stayed long enough to admire the locals, take on water, and note that the land seemed well on the Portuguese side of the line agreed to under the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] signed some 6 years before, and claim possession. Cabral sent one of his fleet back to Portugal to report the find, but Portugal, it seems was not particularly exited by the discovery, preferring to concentrate on the more immediate riches expected from the opening of the East.

They continued, sailing southeast to miss the south of Africa, encountering a storm on the way in which four ships were lost (including one commanded by the inestimable [[Bartholomew Diaz]]). Their progress up the east coast of Africa and across the [[Indian Ocean]] was similar to da Gama’s and they reached [[Calicut]] in India after about six months at sea, a time that was to remain fairly consistent for that voyage.

Cabral had many of the same problems as his predecessor in India, faced by strong and at times violent opposition from his Arab rivals and lack of respect from the local rulers. His fleet was well armed, however, and he was able to get permission to establish a trading factory down the coast in Calicut’s rival [[Cochis]] after leaving Calicut in the wake of bloodshed between his crew and Arabs.

Cabral with only four spice-laden ships arrived back in Lisbon in June 1501. Whilst the expedition was profitable and successful to the point that planning of another began immediately, Cabral was overlooked for further tasks and disappeared from history. It is believed he died in 1520.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabral, Pedro Alvarez}}

{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Philip II

2009-06-14T23:58:38Z

DanielRJ:

{{Disambiguation}}
*[[Philip II of Spain]], a sixteenth-century [[Spain|Spanish]] [[monarch]].
*[[Philip II of Macedon]], the father of [[Alexander the Great]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Ferdinand II

2009-06-14T23:58:18Z

DanielRJ:

'''Ferdinand II''' (1578 - 1637) was the eldest son of archduke Karl and the Barvarian Princess Maria Ferdinand, and he was the grandson of [[Ferdinand II]]. Ferdinand was King of [[Bohemia]] from 1617 , King of [[Hungary]] from 1618, and eventually became the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] from 1619 when he succeeded his uncle Matthias. He studied under the [[Jesuit]]s at Graz and at the University of Ingolstadt.

A zealous [[Catholic]], Ferdinand provoked the Bohemian revolt that led to the [[Thirty Years' War]] in his attempts to remove [[Protestantism]] from his lands.<ref>http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Ferdinand+II+(Holy+Roman+Emperor)</ref>
==References==

<References/>

[[category:European History]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Thomas Malthus

2009-06-14T23:57:50Z

DanielRJ:

#REDIRECT [[Robert Malthus]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Panfilo de Narváez

2009-06-14T23:57:28Z

DanielRJ: Created page with ' Category:Age of Exploration'

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Francisco Ferdinand de Cordoba

2009-06-14T23:56:51Z

DanielRJ:

Francisco Ferdinand de Cordoba lived from September 1, 1453 to December 1, 1515. He was a [[Spanish]] military leader renowned for his exploits in southern [[Italy]].

[[category:history]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Thomas Cavendish

2009-06-14T23:56:46Z

DanielRJ:

'''Thomas Cavendish''' lived from 1560 to 1592. He led the third circumnavigation of the world.

{{stub}}
{{DEFAULTSORT: Cavendish, Thomas}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Moctezuma II

2009-06-14T23:55:24Z

DanielRJ:

#Redirect[[Moctezuma]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Juan de la Cosa

2009-06-14T23:55:20Z

DanielRJ: Created page with ' Category:Age of Exploration'

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

John Cabot

2009-06-14T23:54:37Z

DanielRJ:

'''John Cabot''' was a great Italian explorer, born Giovanni Caboto in [[Italy]] around 1455 (although the actual year is debatable)<ref>http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_Cabot</ref> to the seaman and merchant, Julio Caboto. John always had a deep interest in exploration, and he studied sailing and mapping until he was proficient in both. He became a citizen of [[Venice]] in 1476 and traveled to eastern shores of the [[Mediterranean]] and visited [[Mecca]], a great trading center where Oriental and Western goods were exchanged. As he became more skilled at navigation, he began considering the possibility of reaching Asia by sailing west. In 1482, John met and married a girl named Mattea.<ref>http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/cabot.html</ref> They had three sons, Lewis, [[Sebastian Cabot|Sebastian]], and Sanctus. John and his family moved to England where he began the search for a sponsor to fund a voyage to the Indies. Finally, On March 5, 1496 King [[Henry VII]] granted John a charter giving him permission to sail north, east or west but not south because the Spaniards were there. The first voyage was forced to turn back because of shortage of food, bad weather and disputes with his crew. He set out again on May 2, 1497 with only one [[ship]], the ''Matthew'' (named after his wife Mattea), and a small crew of eighteen men. John Cabot and his crew sailed the ''Matthew'' around the southern tip of [[Ireland]] and then northwards. They then changed course and sailed westwards until they sighted land on June 21, 1497. It was believed to have been southern Labrador, Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island. He mistakenly believed he had reached the northeastern coast of Asia and set sail for England less than a month later on July 20, 1497. When the ''Matthew'' reached England, the people called Cabot ‘The Great Admiral’. King Henry was so pleased that he gave John a pension of twenty pounds per year for the rest of his life. In 1498, John left on another voyage with five ships and three hundred men. One ship experienced trouble and soon made for an Irish port. The other four were never heard of again. He may have reached America again but it is believed the expedition was lost at sea. John Cabot’s love of the sea brought the great mariner to a tragic early death.<ref>''Voyages of the Cabots'', English Discovery of North America(1929, reprint 1971)</ref>
==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabot, John}}
{{Nb_explorers}}
[[Category:British Empire]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Sebastian Cabot

2009-06-14T23:50:50Z

DanielRJ:

{{stub}}

'''Sebastian Cabot''' was born in 1476 to [[John Cabot]] and lived until 1557. Like his father, he was a [[navigation|navigator]], [[explorer]], and [[cartography|cartographer]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabot, Sebastian}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Diego de Almagro

2009-06-14T23:48:35Z

DanielRJ:

'''Diego de Almagro''' lived from 1475 to 1538. He was a [[Spanish|Spainish]] soldier and was very important in his country's conquest of [[Peru]].

{{DEFAULTSORT: Almagro, Diego de}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Diego de Almagro

2009-06-14T23:47:27Z

DanielRJ:

Christopher Columbus

2009-06-14T23:46:55Z

DanielRJ:

[[Image:columbus.jpg|thumb]]
'''Christopher Columbus''' (1451-1506) was an Italian explorer hired by Spain to reach Asia in 1491; instead he discovered a continent, and in four voyages explored the [[West Indies]] from 1492 to 1502. His discovery resulted in Europeans exploring and settling the Americas, and Columbus became both a symbol of the new world and an iconic hero for the age of exploration.

As conservative historian Wilcomb Washburn explains, if Columbus had not discovered the New World, the process of European discovery might have been very different. Rather than standing as a symbol of inexorable forces, Columbus is better seen as a representative of the spirit of inquiry, Christian religious zeal, and the notable achievements of Western Civilization.<ref> Wilcomb E. Washburn, "Columbus: Agent Of The Inevitable?" ''Continuity'' 1992 (16): 57-63. 0277-1446 </ref>

==Early career==
Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo in Italian; Cristobal Colon in Spanish) was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. His father was a weaver, tavern keeper, and political appointee. Christopher was uneducated; he learned to read and write as an adult. Then he read widely. Genoa was a great seaport for the Mediterranean. He became a sailor and traveled widely in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. Sometime in the mid-1470s, he settled in Portugal, joining the colony of Italian merchants in Lisbon, a cosmopolitan city at the center of Portuguese maritime activity in the Atlantic. He married into a prominent family in Lisbon, but his wife died soon after their son, Diego, was born in 1480. Columbus was a master mariner and adventurer, and a devout Catholic who saw religious goals in converting the Asians. He now had connections to the Portuguese court, important ties to Madeira and Porto Santo islands, and at least some wealth.

For centuries, Asia's lucrative commodities, such as spices, had brought European traders overland. That route was now closed and by the 1480s Portugal took the lead in opening ocean routes to Asia, sailing south around Africa into the Indian Ocean, using superb navigational aids they had invented, maps they kept secret, and excellent ships. products directly.

Hearing many tales of legendary Atlantic voyages and rumors of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores, he studied books and maps. Columbus became convinced that Asia could be reached by sailing due west from Europe. Columbus's ideas about the size of the world and a westward route to Asia probably evolved piecemeal. His conjectures were based on discoveries of islands in the Atlantic (the Canaries, the Azores, the Cape Verdes, the Madeiras), rumors of additional islands, findings of unusual plant material and even human bodies drifting in from the western ocean, and by wide reading in academic geography, including ''Imago mundi'' (Image of the World) by the French theologian Pierre d' Ailly and the ''Geographia'' the ancient scientist Ptolemy.<ref>The people Columbus dealt with all knew the earth was round.</ref>

He accepted Marco Polo's erroneous location for Japan-- as 1,500 miles east of China--and Ptolemy's underestimation of the circumference of the Earth. Therefore, he concluded, Japan was about 3,000 miles to the west of Portugal--which was barely within the extreme range of existing ships. In 1484, Columbus sought support for an exploratory voyage from King John II of Portugal, but he was rejected. The Portuguese believed it was too far for their ships.

In 1485 Columbus went to Spain, where he spent seven years trying to get support from Queen [[Isabella I]] of Castile. She favored his cause and provided a salary. Once Spain was unified in 1492, Isabella and her husband King Ferdinand of Aragon were ready to fund a major voyage. The moderate cost would be offset by spectacular returns, they figured. They promised to grant Columbus noble status and the titles of admiral, viceroy, and governor-general for any islands or mainland areas he discovered. The office of admiral would give Columbus the right to judge disputes that arose in commercial matters, that of viceroy would make him the personal representative of the monarch, and that of governor-general would enable him to act as supreme civil and military authority.

==First Voyage==
Isabella furnished him with three ships ([[The Niña]], [[The Pinta]] and The [[Santa Maria]]). Leaving August 3 1492, from the port of Palos, he sailed for months without sight of land while his crew was becoming increasingly disillusioned with the voyage believing themselves to be sailing towards their deaths; they began plotting mutiny.

[[Image:Christopher-columbus.jpg|thumb|250px|October 12, 1492]]
Finally they came to land in the West Indies (October 12, 1492). When they explored a little they found the natives to be friendly and they found many new things that no European had ever seen before. Columbus thought he had landed in India, so he called the native people "Indians" - a designation which remains common to this very day. As they prepared to return to [[Spain]] the Santa Maria ran aground on a coral reef and could not be repaired. Columbus saw this as a sign from God and established a trading outpost he called Navidad (after the Christmas holiday).

However he still had the Nina and Pinta, and so he took most of his crew up the Windward Passage and onward to Spain. The king and queen were amazed by the colorful birds and strange foods that Columbus brought with him. Columbus was then called Admiral.

[[File:News1492.jpg|thumb|400px|News of Columbus' discovery spread across Europe with the republication of his Letter of March, 1493]]
==Second Voyage==
When Columbus sailed back to the new world in 1493, he found no sign of Navidad or of his crew. It is unknown what became of the crew, but one widely believed theory is the local Indian population grew tired of being harassed for gold and killed the sailors. Columbus then built a new settlement called Isabella (after the queen), then left it in the charge of his brother Diego and went exploring. He was puzzled that his maps of the east did not match with what he had seen. When he reached modern day [[Cuba]] he believed that this was the mainland and forced his crew to swear that it was. He also discovered [[Jamaica]] shortly afterwards. On his second voyage Columbus was able to sail back exactly to the same place as on his first voyage, despite poor navigating techniques of the time period. Some attribute this fact to divine providence.

==Third Voyage==
[[Image:Sm skyline.gif|thumb|left|The Issabel]]
In 1498, Columbus left Spain with 17 ships carrying 1,200 colonists. He explored [[Trinidad]], [[Tobago]], [[Grenada]] and the coast of [[Venezuela]].

When he returned to Isabella he found it in a state of confusion that he was unable to control. Because there was no gold he sent 500 Indians to Spain as slaves against the will of the king and queen. This brought much ridicule on Columbus. He sailed back to Spain to defend himself and the king and queen refused to furnish him with the necessary ships for continued exploration for three years.

==Fourth Voyage==
When rumors of the confusion in Isabella reached Spain the king and queen sent Francisco de Bobadilla to investigate. Bobadilla arrested Columbus and his brother in the name of the crown, took charge of Isabella forcefully and sent them back to Spain. Columbus begged for one more chance to explore “Asia”. They gave him four broken down ships. His fleet was beaten with storms and he was forced to give up his last journey. He started back for Spain, but his ships were on the verge of collapse and he was forced to stay at Jamaica. He sent one of his crew to Isabella in a canoe to get rescue ships. Seven months later the ships came and took him back to Spain.

==Death==
[[Image:Rabida.jpg|thumb|Santa María de la Rábida, Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain.]]
Columbus died a prosperous man in Spain at the age of 55. He still believed he had reached Asia at the time. The notion that Columbus died in poverty and relative anonymity is a myth. It is also a myth that Columbus prove that the world was round. Europeans had known for centuries that the world was round. Columbus's disagreement with the experts was that he thought that the Earth was much smaller, and that he had enough supplies to sail to India.

==The Memory of Columbus==
Columbus has remained since the quest for independence a malleable and durable American symbol. Although ignored during most of the colonial period, he was, during the 1760s-1890s, interpreted and reinterpreted to fit our national character and used to mold a collective identity. This progress can be traced over three periods: as Columbia (an allegorical figure symbolizing liberty); as Columbus (an individual masculine explorer who sanctioned [[Manifest Destiny]]); and as Columbianism, a late-19th-century patriotic symbol involving cultural and political hegemony and various ethnic and religious identities. During this evolution of "discovering" Columbus, a significant amount of material culture surfaced in American art, monuments, coinage, and in various civic events. This led to a multiple set of uses of Columbus as a model or official icon by various organizations to help shape their identities. The discovery of Columbus also grew as new methods of communication and the development of various media in the visual arts replaced the oral tradition and elementary school prose of the 18th century. This adaption of Columbus as a national symbol created conflicting contexts for many, such as Protestants ignoring Columbus's Catholicism. All three periods signify steps in the nation's search for self-identity.<ref> Thomas J. Schlereth, "Columbia, Columbus, And Columbianism." ''Journal of American History'' 1992 79(3): 937-968. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2080794 in JSTOR] </Ref>

In the 19th century the works of historians [[Washington Irving]], [[George Bancroft]], and [[William Prescott]] created the scholarly foundations for American celebration of Columbus's achievements. Irving created a highly romantic description of Columbus's landing in ''A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus'' (1828). 19th century American painters and graphic artists conjured up romantic images to match those found in the book. The image portrayed in Irving's book and by the artists shows Columbus finding a sparsely populated virgin land inhabited by lightly clothed "savages" to whom he introduced a "superior" culture and the blessings of Christianity. The mythical image also claims that Columbus planted the seeds of future American economic prosperity.

Americans celebrated Columbus's discovery of the New World and built numerous monuments to him in the late 19th century. The city of Columbus, Ohio was established in 1812. In addition, cities and towns, streets and health facilities, libraries, universities, schools, and in modern times sport teams bearing his name are symbols of his American stature. [[Columbus Day]], is a national holiday in the United States, proclaimed so in 1937 by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], primarily at the behest of [[Catholic]]s and the fast growing [[Italian]] immigrant community who wanted a national holiday of celebration.

By the quincentenary celebration of his discovery in 1992, Columbus stood accused of genocide and ecocide. Columbus Day became controversial in the 1970s, as a matter of white guilt regarding the mistreatment of native Americans. The main accuser was Colorado professor [[Ward Churchill]] (who was fired in 2007 for academic misconduct and falsifying history); he compared Columbus to Nazi Holocaust sponsor [[Heinrich Himmler]], pointing to the genocidal outcome of Columbus's brutal practices in the Caribbean.

Columbus did return to Spain with a number of Indian slaves, and that slave labor was used in his quest for gold. Native populations died out primarily because of exposure to new Old World diseases.<ref>http://www.history.com/content/columbusday/holiday-history History of Columbus Day</ref>

Leftist protesters of the 1992 quincentennial celebrations of frequently used the term "genocide" to describe European treatment of the Indians, but they never defined genocide or provided sound evidence that Europeans practiced genocide. Historians should recognize the legitimate emotional source of these complaints, but counsel against the use of moral blackmail by groups who have something to gain from characterizing European treatment of Indians as genocidal. Historians should work to destroy "maleficent myths" about the past and expose complex origins of "current fortunes and misfortunes" without holding the descendants of those who wronged other peoples accountable for the deeds of their ancestors.<ref>James Axtell, "The Moral Dimensions of 1492," ''Historian'' 1993 56(1): 17-28. 0018-2370 </ref>

==Cities named after Columbus==
:Columbus, Arkansas
:Columbus, Georgia
:Columbus, Illinois
:Columbus, Indiana
:Columbus, Kansas
:Columbus, Kentucky
:Columbus, Minnesota
:Columbus, Mississippi
:Columbus, Montana
:Columbus, Nebraska
:Columbus, New Jersey
:Columbus, New Mexico
:Columbus, New York
:Columbus, North Carolina
:Columbus, North Dakota
:Columbus, Ohio
:Columbus, Texas
:Columbus, Wisconsin
:Columbus City, Iowa
:Columbus Grove, Ohio
:Columbus Junction, Iowa
:Columbus Township, Illinois
:Columbus Township, Indiana
:Columbus Township, Iowa
:Columbus Township, Michigan
:Columbus Township, Missouri
:Columbus Township, Nebraska
:Columbus Township, North Carolina
:Columbus Township, Pennsylvania
:Columbus Township, Wisconsin

==Further reading==
* Bedini Silvio A., ed. ''Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia'' (1991); 787pp articles by 350 scholars; a major resource
** Bedini Silvio A. '' Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration'' (1998); 824pp encyclopedia
* Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. ''Columbus: And the Conquest of the Impossible'' (2nd ed. 2001), 128pp; good, short, scholarly
* Morison, Samuel Eliot. '' Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus‎'' (1942), 691pp; the best biography; written by an eminent conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Admiral-Ocean-Sea-Christopher-Columbus/dp/0316584789/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243893419&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Phillips, Carla Rahn. ''The Worlds of Christopher Columbus‎'' (1993) 340 pages, excellent popular biography
* [http://www.questia.com/library/history/european-history/europe-1400-1789/christopher-columbus.jsp online books about Columbus]
* Taviani, Paolo Emilio. ''Columbus, The Great Adventure: His Life, His Times, and His Voyages'' (1991), by the leading Italian expert
* Watts, Pauline Moffitt. "Prophecy and Discovery: On the Spiritual Origins of Christopher Columbus's 'Enterprise of the Indies'". ''American Historical Review'', Vol. 90, No. 1 (Feb., 1985), pp. 73-102; emphasizes complex religious motivations [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1860749 in JSTOR]
* Wilford, John Noble. ''The Mysterious History of Columbus: An Exploration of the Man, the Myth, the Legacy'' (1991), the best popular biography; very well written

===Historiography===
* Axtell, James. "Columbian Encounters: 1992-1995." ''William And Mary Quarterly'' 1995 52(4): 649-696. [http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/rev/AXTELL-1.HTML online edition]; [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2947042 also in JSTOR], leading scholar reviews the major publications
* Axtell, James. "The Moral Dimensions of 1492," ''Historian'' 1993 56(1): 17-28. 0018-2370
* Bushman, Claudia L. ''America Discovers Columbus: How an Italian Explorer Became an American Hero.'' (1992). 217 pp.
* Davidson, Miles H. ''Columbus Then and Now: A Life Reexamined.'' (1997). 609 pp.
* Sale, Kirkpatrick. ''The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy.'' (1990). 453 pp. nasty attack from the Left
* Schlereth, Thomas J. "Columbia, Columbus, And Columbianism." ''Journal of American History'' 1992 79(3): 937-968. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2080794 in JSTOR]
* Summerhill, Stephen J. and John Alexander Williams. ''Sinking Columbus: Contested History, Cultural Politics, and Mythmaking during the Quincentenary.'' (2000). 219 pp.
* [http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/grd/resguides/columbus/print.html additional bibliography]

==External links==
* [http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/ extensive collection of articles about Columbus]
*[http://www.mariner.org/educationalad/ageofex/columbus.php from Mariner's Museum]

== References ==
<references/>
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[[Category:European History]]
[[Category:Colonial America]]
[[Category:Spanish Empire]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Pedro Arias Davila

2009-06-14T23:45:16Z

DanielRJ:

'''Pedro Arias Davila''' lived from 1440 to 1531 A.D. He was [[Spanish]] [[soldier]] and [[colony|colonial]] [[administrator]] who led the first Spanish expedition to found permanent colonies in the [[New World]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davila, Pedro Aria}}
[[category:biographies]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Martin Frobisher

2009-06-14T23:45:11Z

DanielRJ:

Sir '''Martin Frobisher''' was born near [[Wakefield]], [[Yorkshire]] about 1535. He went to sea as a cabin boy in 1544. He was one of the first [[English]] explorers to sail the northeast [[North America]]n coast.

His travels began in the 1550's when he explored Africa's northwest coast. A navigator and an adventurer, Frobisher gained a reputation for preying on French trading vessels in the waters, off [[Guinea]]. He was arrested several times during the 1560's on piracy charges, but managed to avoid trial.

In 1576, Frobisher became commander of three small ships: the Pinnace, Michael and the Gabriel. He set sail for [[North America]] in search of the [[Northwest Passage]]. During his first trip he lost two ships and reached Baffin Island and discovered what later became Frobisher Bay. He sensed that [[North America]] was a land rich in gold and his tales of treasure earned him royal backing for his next two voyages in 1577 and 1578. He attempted to start at least one ill-fated settlement, but spent most of his time looking for precious metals. When he returned empty-handed after a third try, Frobisher lost his financial backing.

Frobisher returned to the seas in 1585 as vice admiral for Sir [[Francis Drake]]'s voyage to the [[West Indies]]. Three years later, he fought for the [[English]] against the [[Spanish Armada]] and was knighted for his efforts. For six years Frobisher lead several different [[English]] squadrons, including one that attempted to intercept Spanish treasure ships in the [[Azores]]. He retired in 1591 and in 1592 [[Walter Raleigh]] persuaded him to lead an attack on Spanish merchant ships bringing gold from [[Panama]]. He was badly wounded at Siege of Crozon, near [[Brest]], [[France]]. He was brought back to [[England]] but died in [[Plymouth]] on 22 November 1594.

===External Links===

* [http://www.pbs.org/empireofthebay Empire of the Bay - PBS]

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{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Martín Alonso Pinzón

2009-06-14T23:45:06Z

DanielRJ: Created page with ' Category:Age of Exploration'

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Juan Ponce de Leon

2009-06-14T23:44:01Z

DanielRJ:

[[Image:Poncedeleon.jpg|right|thumb|Juan Ponce de Leon]]
'''Juan Ponce de Leon''' conquered the island of [[Puerto Rico]], was the first to explore [[Florida]], mapped its coast and made a failed attempt to start a settlement there. Ponce de Leon was born about 1460 in San Tervas de Campos, [[Spain]]. As a young man he joined the war to conquer [[Granada]], the last [[Moors|Moorish]] State on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]. He first visited the [[New World]] on [[Columbus]]'s second voyage in 1493 and settled there in 1502. He and his family settled on a island in the [[Caribbean]] named [[Hispaniola]] (present-day [[Haiti]] and the [[Dominican Republic]]). He became a military commander and helped conquer the native Tainos tribe of the eastern part of Hispaniola and was rewarded with the Governorship of the Province of Higuey that was created there. He forced the Tainos to work in the mines and to construct fortifications. The Tainos died in great numbers after exposure to European diseases. Ponce de Leon became rich while serving as Governor, married a Spanish woman named Leonore and had two daughters and one son.

In 1506 after the death of Christopher Columbus Spanish authorites refused to grant his son Diego Columbus lifetime governorship of his father's discoveries. Spanish Crown had selected de Leon to colonize and govern Puerto Rico. Diego took his claim to the top court in [[Madrid]] and won his rights. De Leon was removed from office in 1511. Not wanting to serve Diego, de Leon obtained title to explore areas north of [[Cuba]].
Ponce le Leon searched for an island said to lie north of Cuba called Bimini. There were stories of a [[Fountain of Youth]]. A legendary, magical spring whose water was believed to make older people young again and to cure all illness. He left Puerto Rico in March 1513 sailing northwest skirting the [[Bahamas]]. He named the beautiful mainland Tierra La Florida or Land of Flowers. He landed just north of present day [[St Augustine]] and stayed for six days.

De Leon and his pilot, Anton de Alaminos, made several more voyages of discovery in the Caribbean and the [[Gulf of Mexico]], then followed the coast southward, found the [[Florida Keys]], and explored Florida's west coast northward to [[Pensacola]] Bay and then returned to Puerto Rico.

The expedition was a most important one. Not only was Ponce de Leon the first European to visit the territory of what is now the [[United States]], but he had found the Bahama Channel, which gave a shorter route between Cuba and [[Europe]]. Alaminos, who had noticed the unusually strong contrary current at Florida's south coast is now considered the discoverer of the [[Gulf Stream]].

The king honored Ponce de Leon with knighthood and governorship of Florida. In 1521 he left from Puerto Rico with an expedition to colonize what de Leon still thought was the island of Florida. He landed on the west coast and attempted to establish a colony. The colony was soon attacked by the Calusa Indians and had to be abandoned. De Leon had been wounded and died shortly after his arrival back in [[Havana]], Cuba in July 1521.

==References==
*W.J. van Balen: Pioniers. Amsterdam: Elsevier(1940)
*Richard E. Bohlander (ed): World Explorers and Discoverers. New York: Macmillan(1992)
*Catholic Encyclopedis:Juan Ponce de Leon

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{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Henry Hudson

2009-06-14T23:41:14Z

DanielRJ:

'''Henry Hudson''' (1565-1611) was an English explorer and founder of the [[Hudson Bay Company]] and the namesake of [[Hudson Bay]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Henry}}
[[Category:Colonial America]]
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Willem Barents

2009-06-14T23:41:05Z

DanielRJ:

{{stub}}

'''Willem Barents''' lived from 1550 to June 20, 1597.

He was a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] sailor who searched for a northeast passage from [[Europe]] to [[Asia]]. The [[Barents Sea]] was named for him. He died in 1597 when his ship got stuck in ice.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barents, Willem}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

[[Category:Age of Exploration]]

Willem Barents

2009-06-14T23:40:20Z

DanielRJ:

Exponential growth

2009-06-13T17:13:57Z

DanielRJ:

'''Exponential growth''' is [[growth]] like an [[exponential function]].

The expression "exponential growth" is often used to mean "tremendous growth" because an exponential function with a [[basis]] greater than 1 grows faster than any [[polynomial function]]s. Formally, for any basis ''a''>1 there is a number ''n'' such that, for any ''x''>''n'', ''x'' to the power of ''n'' is strictly greater than ''x'' to the power of ''a''. Colloquially, for any pair of one exponential function and one polynomial function there is a point ''n'' at which the former, provided its exponent is large enough, will overtake the latter.

[[Category:Mathematics]]