DANTE ALIGHIERI

FLORENCE, ITALY
​(1265-1321)

• an Italian Renaissance poet famous for writing the Divine Comedy that describes a journey through hell to purgatory and paradise

LEONARDO DA VINCI, MICHELANGELO, RAPHAEL

ITALY
(L-1452–1519) (M-1475–1564) (R-1483–1520)

• famous Italian Renaissance artists whose works are well established as masterpieces worldwide
  
• works include: the Mona Lisa (L), the Last Supper (L), the Statue of David (M), ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (M), and the School of Athens (R)

VASCO DA GAMA

PORTUGAL
(1460–1524)

• Portuguese explorer who led the first naval expedition from Europe to sail to India opening an important commercial (trade) sea route.
  
• brought spices back to Portugal and made a profit of several thousand dollars. (10x the cost of the trip)

AMERIGO VESPUCCI

ITALY / SPAIN
(1454–1512)

• Italian sailor who corrected Columbus's mistake, acknowledging the coasts of America as a new world
  
• America is named after him

HERNAN CORTEZ

SPAIN
(1485–1547)

• Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs and conquered Mexico

JOHN SMITH &  JOHN ROLFE

ENGLAND
(S-1580–1631) (R-1585–1622)

• leaders of Jamestown
  
• Smith led the colony through starvation by instituting military discipline to the colony
  
• Rolfe introduced tobacco to the colony becoming a major cash crop for Virginia
  
• Rolfe also married the Indian princess Pocahontas

NICCOLÒ 
MACHIAVELLI

FLORENCE, ITALY
​(1469–1527)

• Italian writer on politics who believed that all means may be resorted to for the establishment and preservation of authority and if necessary, through deceit and manipulation
• "the end justifies the means"

WILLIAM 
​SHAKESPEARE

ENGLAND
(1564–1616)

• English poet and playwright considered one of the greatest writers of the English language
• works include Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

GENOA / SPAIN
(1451–1506)

• ​​Italian navigator who discovered the New World in the service of Spain while looking for a western route to China

FERDINAND 
​MAGELLAN

PORTUGAL / SPAIN
(1480–1521)

• ​​Portuguese explorer who found a western sea route to the Spice Island by sailing around the American continent
  
• his crew was the first to cross the Pacific Ocean and circumnavigate the world

FRANCISCO 
​PIZARRO

SPAIN
(1471–1476)

• Spanish explorer who led the conquest of the Incan Empire in Peru from 1531-1533.

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