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- Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451
- His father was a wool weaver and owned a cheese stand, Christopher would be by his side
- Christopher spent his early life traveling around Europe, and worked for trading companies
- Columbus has always had a passion for exploring, and wanted to prove that the Earth was round

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- Columbus had a hard time finding a country to fund the journey across the ocean
- He had shared his idea with the leaders of Portugal, Venice, and England, and they all said it was too expensive and dangerous
- He spent two years talking with King Ferdinand || and Queen Isabella, and Spain finally agreed to give him money for his trip, but only under one condition - to give them all of the spices, gold, and silk he found, but he could keep %10 of it
- He had set free with a fleet of three ships
- Columbus had found land on the morning of October 12
- The crews had faced dangerous storms, and never really got along with the people living in the lands they went to

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- He claimed the expedition to be a success as he returned with gold, spices, and "Indian" captives
- Columbus had returned and give King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella what he promised, keeping %10 of the goods he brought back
- Columbus forced many native people into slavery
- He returned with more greed, and decided he would go on a second expedition
- During the time he became the governor of Hispaniola, he was very unkind to the native people, making more of them slaves and killing others
- This made Queen Isabella very unhappy as she believes the natives of Hispaniola were Spanish citizens

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- Columbus died at the age of 54, on May 20, 1506
- Since his first trip to the New World, he has been sick off and on
- There is a possibility that he may have gotten diseases while in the America 14 years before his death
- Columbus died, thinking that he HAD set foot in the Indies, but he had only set foot in the Bahamas
- Columbus had inspired many explorers
- He had populated the New World with his people

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- Cortes was born in 1485, in Medellin, Spain
- Cortes grew up poor, and wanted glory for his homeland
- He had been wanting to become a conquistador, after he had seen the movement by Columbus
- His family was fairly famous - his father was the captain of the Spanish Army Team, and his parents have always dreamed of him becoming a lawyer, so Cortes went to law school at the age of 14, and returned when he was 16
- Cortes first served as a soldier in an expedition of Cuba led by Diego Velazquez in 1511

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- Cortes set on an expedition to conquer the Aztecs in 1521
- He believed that he could obtain more riches on the mainland, as he grew up poor
- Cortes was inspired by Columbus' expedition across the world, and wanted to join the movement
- Cortes and his men were eager to settle in Mexico, and conquer the Aztecs
- He had recently conquered Cuba, and was thirsty for more power and greater thrills
- He was interested in converting natives to Christianity
- He wanted glory for his homeland
- He had help from a woman Donna Marina, who could interpret what the natives were saying

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- Cortes fell out of favor with the King of Spain
- He was forced to return to Spain, and to defend himself in 1541
- He participated in an unsuccessful expedition to Algiers where he nearly drowned when his ship was sunk

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Kids learn about United States and world history. Social studies of American history and ancient civilizations for students and teachers.

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- Cortes died because of a disease he had, called Pleurisy
- He died at the age of 62
- Like Columbus, he died a wealthy, but embittered man
- Disgusted, he returned to Mexico in 1547
- When he reached Seville, he was stricken with dysentery

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- Pizarro was born in 1475, in Trujillo, Spain
- In 1513, he joined Vasco Nunez de Balboa in his march to the "South Sea," during which Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean
- Pizarro worked as a pig herder, and gained wealth to buy food and clothes
- Pizarro had brothers that conquered Peru
- In Italy, he gained a reputation of being courageous
- His father, Gonzalo Pizarro, was a Spanish army colonel, while his mother was a poor woman who lived in Trujillo
- Pizarro was raised by his grandparents since his parents were never married
- He had very little education and was illiterate, unable to read or write

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- Pizarro eventually became friends with a fellow explorer named Balboa
- He joined him on an expedition that crossed the Isthmus of Panama to reach the Pacific Ocean
- The two explorers' relationship soured when Balboa was replaced as the local governer by Pedrarias Davila, whom Pizarro befriended
- Davila and Balboa became enemies, leading to Pizarro having to arrest Balboa
- Pizarro turned on Balboa and arrested him. Balboa was executed and Pizarro was rewarded for his loyalty to the new governer, with being given the position of magistrate and mayor of the newly founded Panama City between 1519 and 1523

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Pizarro landed on the coast of South America in 1532, where he established the first Spanish settlement in Peru called San Miguel de Piura
- The Inca had just fought a civil war between brothers Atahualpa and Huascar for control of the throne after their father died
- Atahualpa won the war, but the Inca were weakened from the internal battles, this gave Pizarro a huge advantage
- In addition, many became sick from the diseases the Spanish brought
- Pizarro was inspired by Cortes' movement and decided he would use his strategy for conquering the Inca
- After killing Atahualpa, Pizarro and his men marched to Cuzco and took over

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- Pizarro and Almagro fought for control of Cuzco
- Pizarro imprisoned Almagro and chose to kill him
- Pizarro maintained control of Spain
- Pizarro was later assassinated by Almagros followers

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Francisco Pizarro is most known for conquering the Incan Empire of Peru and killing its King Atahualpa, firmly establishing Spanish control over S. America.