List of maritime explorers

This is a list of maritime explorers. The list includes explorers who have substantially contributed to human knowledge of the planet's geography, weather, biodiversity, and human cultures, or who have significantly contributed to the expansion of trade and communication between populations.

Ocean explorers NationalitySailed forNameFirst voyage of explorationLast voyage of explorationArcticThe numbers indicate the number of exploratory voyages. A ship sailing from port through familiar seas does not start exploring until terra incognita is sighted, or a new sea is sailed confirming the lack of land — as in the case of James Cook's second voyage, when he could confirm that the Terra Australis land mass did not exist in the regions of the Southern Ocean that he sailed.North AtlanticIndianPacificSouth AtlanticSouthernPortuguese Portugalde Abreu, António15071512 Portuguese Portugalde Albuquerque, Afonso1503 DutchNetherlandsCarstenszoon, Jan Portuguese Portugalde Alenquer, Pero14871488 Portuguese Portugalde Almeida, Francisco Portuguese PortugalÁlvares, Jorge Portuguese Portugalde Azambuja, Diogo PortuguesePortugalde Lisboa, João Portuguese Portugalde Barcelos, Pero NewfoundlanderNewfoundland then part of the British Empire United StatesBartlett, Robert DutchNetherlandsBarentsz, Willem EstonianEstonia - then part of the Russian Empire Russiavon Bellingshausen, Fabian Gottlieb *Indicates a voyage DanishSailed for the Russian Empire RussiaBering, Vitus * French Francede Bougainville, Louis Antoine English BritainByron, John Italian EnglandCabot, John ItalianEngland and AragonCabot, Sebastian Portuguese PortugalCabral, Pedro Álvares PortugueseIn some sources Spanish SpainCabrillo, João Rodrígues ItalianPortugalCadamosto. Alvise Portuguese PortugalCaminha, Álvaro Portuguese Portugalde Caminha, Pero Vaz Portuguese PortugalCão, Diogo French FranceCartier, Jacques1534 English EnglandCavendish, Thomas1586-1588 French Francede Champlain, Samuel Portuguese PortugalCoelho, Gonçalo Portuguese PortugalCoelho, Nicolau ItalianSpainColumbus, Christopher EnglishBritainCook, James1768–17711776–1779 3 1Portuguese PortugalCorte-Real, Gaspar Portuguese PortugalCorte-Real, Miguel Portuguese Portugalda Cunha, Tristão English EnglandDampier, William English England and NetherlandsDavis, John Russian RussiaDezhnev, Semyon * Portuguese PortugalDias, Bartolomeu Portuguese PortugalDias, Dinis Portuguese PortugalDias, Diogo Portuguese PortugalDias, Pero Portuguese Portugaldo Pó, Fernão English EnglandDrake, Francis1577–15811577–1581 111 Portuguese PortugalEanes, Gil Norwegian NorseErik the Red Icelandic NorseEricson, Leif Portuguese PortugalEscobar, Pedro Portuguese PortugalFernandes, Álvaro English BritainFlinders, Matthew English EnglandFrobisher, Martin Portuguese Portugalda Gama, Estêvão Portuguese Portugalda Gama, Paulo Portuguese Portugalda Gama, Vasco1497-1499 1524 ItalianFranceda Verrazzano, Giovanni English England and IrelandGilbert, Humphrey DutchNetherlandsGerritsz Vries, Maarten Russian RussiaGolovnin, Vasily * Portuguese PortugalGonçalves, André Portuguese PortugalGonçalves, Antão Portuguese PortugalGonçalves, Lopes Portuguese PortugalGrego, João Dutch NetherlandsHartog, Dirk English EnglandHudson, Henry Portuguese PortugalInfante, João DutchNetherlandsJanszoon, Willem Baltic German Russiavon Kotzebue, Otto * Baltic German Russia and BritainKruzenshtern, Ivan Fedorovich * French Francede Lapérouse, Jean François de Galaup, comte Portuguese Portugal and EnglandLavrador, João Fernandes Russian Russia and BritainLazarev, Mikhail Petrovich * Portuguese Portugalde Lemos, Gaspar Russian RussiaLitke, Fyodor Petrovich * Portuguese Spain and PortugalMagellan, Ferdinand Dutch Netherlandsle Maire, Jacob Portuguese PortugalMartins, Álvaro Portuguese PortugalMascarenhas, Pedro Spanish Spainde Mendaña, Álvaro 1567-1569 GenoesePortugalNoli, António DutchNetherlandsNuyts, Pieter Portuguese Portugalde Noronha, Fernão Galician Portugalda Nova, João French FrancePaulmyer, Binot Portuguese PortugalPereira, Duarte Pacheco Portuguese PortugalPerestrelo, Bartolomeu German Denmark and HamburgPining, Didrik Portuguese PortugalPinto, Fernão Mendes Portuguese PortugalPires, Luís Portuguese Spainde Queirós, Pedro Fernandes Portuguese PortugalRodrigues, Diogo DutchNetherlandsRoggeveen, Jacob Portuguese Portugalde Santarém, João Dutch NetherlandsSchouten, Willem Irish BritainShackleton, Ernest Portuguese PortugalSilves, Diogo Portuguese Portugalde Sintra, Pedro EnglishBritainSmith, William PortugueseIn some sources Spanish SpainSoromenho, Sebastião Rodrígues Portuguese Portugalde Sousa, Martim Afonso Dutch NetherlandsTasman, Abel Portuguese PortugalTeixeira, Tristão Vaz Portuguese or Spanish (Galician) Spainde Torres, Luis Váez DutchNetherlandsThijssen, François Portuguese PortugalTristão, Nuno English BritainVancouver, George Portuguese PortugalVaz Corte-Real, João Portuguese PortugalVelho, Gonçalo Italian Franceda Verrazzano, Giovanni Italian Spain and PortugalVespucci, Amerigo English BritainWallis, Samuel Baltic German RussiaWrangel, Ferdinand Petrovich * Portuguese PortugalZarco, João Gonçalves Chinese China (Three Kingdoms period of China)Kang Tai300 Chinese China (Three Kingdoms period of China)Zhu Ying300 Chinese China (Yuen dynasty)Wang Dayuan1330 Chinese China (Ming dynasty)Zheng He1405 1431 Chinese China (Ming dynasty)Ma Huan1413 Chinese China (Ming dynasty)Fei Xin1409

List of maritime explorers

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