Search
Search Results

Definition
Diego de Almagro
Diego de Almagro (c. 1475-1538) was a Spanish conquistador who was second-in-command to Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541) during his expedition that attacked the Inca civilization from 1531. Almagro then led his own expedition to explore Chile...

Interview
Interview: The Last Days of the Incas (Kim MacQuarrie)
How did a mere 167 Spaniards conquer an empire of 10 million people? The Spanish were outnumbered 200-to-1 yet they were able to seize the Inca capital, Cuzco, and dispose of the Inca ruler within only a year. Kim MacQuarrie's The Last Days...

Definition
El Dorado - The Gilded Ruler of Ancient Colombia
El Dorado ('Gilded Man' or 'Golden One') referred to the legendary kings of the Muisca (Chibcha) people who populated the northern Andes of modern-day Colombia from 600 to 1600. The name derives from the coronation ritual when the new king...

Definition
Kachina Cult
The Kachina (also “Katsina”) cult refers to the specific religious practices centered on the kachina, which is a spiritual entity and divine messenger of the Puebloan peoples as well as the Hopi, Zuni, Tewa, and Keresan tribes in what is...

Definition
Henricus Colony of Virginia
Henricus (1611-1622, also known as Henrico, Henryco, Citie of Henryco) was a colony established in Virginia in 1611 by Sir Thomas Dale (l. c. 1560-1619). Dale had been ordered by the Virginia Company of London – which had funded the establishment...

Definition
John Rolfe
John Rolfe (l. 1585-1622 CE) was an English merchant and colonist of Jamestown best known as the husband of Pocahontas (l. c. 1596-1617 CE). He is also known, however, for his successful cultivation of tobacco in Virginia which established...

Article
A Brief History of Tobacco in the Americas
The history of tobacco use in the Americas goes back over 1,000 years when natives of the region chewed or smoked the leaves of the plant now known as Nicotiana rustica (primarily in the north) and Nicotiana tabacum (mostly in the south...

Article
Francis Drake's Circumnavigation of the Globe
The English mariner, privateer, and explorer Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596 CE) made his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580 CE. Only the second to achieve this feat after the expedition of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan...

Definition
William Dampier
William Dampier (1651-1715) was an English explorer, navigator, and naturalist, who was the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He was also among the first Englishmen to step foot on Australian soil when he sailed into King...

Definition
Alexander Selkirk - The Inspiration For Robinson Crusoe
Alexander Selkirk (or Selcraig, 1676-1721) was a Scotsman famously marooned for four years and four months on a desert island in the Pacific Ocean until his rescue by a passing British ship in February 1709. His story inspired the title character...