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Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León (1474-1521) was a Spanish conquistador who led expeditions from Puerto Rico to the coast of Florida, giving the region its current name. He also served as the first governor of Puerto Rico and discovered the Gulf Stream...
Definition
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was an Italian violin virtuoso and composer of baroque music (c. 1600-1750). Best known for his violin concertos, notably The Four Seasons, Vivaldi made a significant contribution to the evolution of instrumental...
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Tomb of Juan Ponce de León
The tomb of Juan Ponce de León (c. 1460-1521) in Saint John the Baptist Cathedral in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ponce de León was a conquistador who became the first governor of Puerto Rico and, landing in Florida on an expedition of exploration...
Definition
El Dorado
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...
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Don Antonio of Portugal
An illustration of Don Antonio of Portugal (l. 1531-1595 CE) who in 1580 CE was deposed as king by Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598 CE). One of the aims of the failed 1589 CE Drake-Norris Expedition which attacked Lisbon was to reinstall...
Definition
Juan de Grijalva
Juan de Grijalva (aka Grijalba, 1489-1527) was a Spanish conquistador who explored the eastern coast of Mexico in 1518. His notable achievements included a demonstration that the Yucatán Peninsula was just that and not, as previously thought...
Definition
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan, or Fernão de Magalhães (c. 1480-1521), was a Portuguese mariner whose expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1519-22 in the service of Spain. Magellan was killed on the voyage in what is today the Philippines...
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Antonio I Acciaioli
Antonio I Acciaioli (r. 1403-1435 CE), Duke of Athens.
Illustration from Atene Attica Descritta da suoi Principii sino all’acquisto fatto dall’Armi Venete nel 1687…, Venice, Antonio Bortoli, 1695 edition, by Francesco Fanelli
Definition
Duchy of Athens
The Duchy of Athens was a Latin or Frankish state in Greece that existed from 1205 to 1458 CE. It was created in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204 CE) and would be ruled for the majority of its history by the Burgundian de la...
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Juan Ponce de León
A 17th-century coloured engraving of Juan Ponce de León (c. 1460-1521), the conquistador who became governor of Puerto Rico and, landing in Florida, gave the region that name in 1513.