Explorers and Explorations (Part One) Quiz

Question: Where in Australia did Captain James Cook first land?

Answer: Botany Bay was the site in 1770 of Captain James Cook's first landing in Australia. Botany Bay is a roughly circular inlet of the Tasman Sea of the Pacific Ocean in present-day New South Wales.

Question: Who were the first Europeans to colonize New York?

Answer: Giovanni da Verrazzano (1524) and Henry Hudson (1609) were among the first Europeans to visit New York Harbor. The primary result of Hudson's voyage, and his report of a protected anchorage near good farmland, was the Dutch West India Company's decision to place a trading post on the southern shore of Manna-hata (Manhattan) Island; by 1626 a settlement called New Amsterdam was established. It was not the first Dutch settlement in North America, but the Dutch became the first Europeans to colonize New York.

Question: Which explorer led the voyage that became the first circumnavigation of the world?

Answer: Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who sailed from Spain around South America, discovering what became known as the Strait of Magellan, and across the Pacific Ocean. Though he was killed in the Philippines, his ships continued westward to Spain, accomplishing the first circumnavigation of the world.

Question: Which Egyptian monarch’s tomb was discovered intact by Howard Carter in 1922?

Answer: Tutankhamen (reigned 1333–23 BCE) is known chiefly for his intact tomb discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, an English archaeologist and adventurer.

Question: Who led the first European expedition around the Cape of Good Hope, opening the sea route to Asia via the Atlantic and Indian oceans?

Answer: Bartolomeu Dias was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who led the first European expedition to round the Cape of Good Hope (1488), opening the sea route to Asia via the Atlantic and Indian oceans. He is usually considered the greatest of the Portuguese pioneers who explored the Atlantic during the 15th century.