Historical Explorations and Expeditions

Neil Armstrong was the commander of Apollo 11 and became the first human to step onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969.

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and the United States. Their first European contact was with the Vikings who settled in Greenland and explored the eastern Canadian coast. 

Marco Polo, the Italian traveller of the 13th century introduced Asia, especially China to Europe. He stayed in China for 17 years. he wrote about flora and fauna, social life, culture and trade systems of Asia.

Benjamin of Tudela was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, and Africa between 1165 and 1173. His travelogue is a significant historical source for the geography and ethnography of the 12th century.

Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969. Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11.

Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. They landed on the moon in the Lunar Module. It was called the Eagle. Collins stayed in orbit around the moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon.

Neil Alden Armstrong was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.

Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon.

Kayalpatnam (aka Kayalpattinam), or Korkai is a town in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu, India. Kayal is referred to in Marco Polo's travel diaries dating to 1250 AD. Kayal was an ancient port dating to the 1st centuries of the Christian era and was contemporaneous to the existence of Kollam, another Pandyan port.

The first European to sight the Australian continent was Dutchman Willem Janszoon in 1606, along the coast of Cape York Peninsula. The Dutch mapped the northern coastline, referring to the continent as “New Holland".

Christopher Columbus is historically credited with the European discovery of the Americas in 1492, which led to widespread contact between the Old World and the New World.

Portuguese explorer and navigator Vasco de Gama discovered a new sea route to India in 1498. Vasco de Gama is regarded as the first European to reach India by sea. He crossed Cape of Good Hope (Africa) and reached Calicut (Kozhikode) in Malabar Coast (Kerala) where he met the King of Calicut, Zamorin who welcomed him graciously.

Portuguese explorer Prince Henry, also known as the Navigator, was the first European to methodically explore Africa and the oceanic route to the Indies. From his residence in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, he directed successive expeditions to circumnavigate Africa and reach India.

Prince Henry, a Portuguese made great efforts in this direction. Hence, he was known as Henry the Navigator. He started a school for navigators and encouraged extensive exploration.  The sailors were taught how to make use of Mariner's compass and the astrolabe. 

Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire until it was conquered by Ottoman Empire. It used to be the prime route for the Europe that allowed the trade of spice and other commodities from India and China. Its fall caused the loss in spice trade due to which the European sailors went on to discover an alternate sea route.

The Venetian traveler Marco Polo, as well as his father and uncle, traveled to China during the period of Mongol rule in the 13th century. Basically he was a merchant.

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route to India in 1497-1498. Actually, an unnamed Indian navigator he hired in Kenya directed the journey from the east coast of Africa to what is now Kozhikode, India.