2006-07-12 17:54:15 · 3 answers · asked by ankit 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
In 1539 a large Spanish force get out from the town of Quito, in Ecuador, to find out what could be discovered to the east. As their supplies were running out, Gonzalo Pizarro, a brother of the conqueror of Peru, ordered a small party to retrace their route by boat and return with fresh supplies. Commanded by Francisco de Orellana, the fifty men set off. However, a strong current swung their boat around, forcing them eastwards in the opposite direction. After several exhausting days, Orellana decided to let the current carry them where trees fringed the water’s edge. On one occasion they were attacked by more than 2,000 natives and had to fight them off, using cross-bows, for their powder was damp. Shortly after they met a fleet of canoes filled with tall, fair-haired women who shot arrows at them, killing seven of their number. Because of this incident, Orellana called the river the ‘Amazon’ after a race of legendary women warriors. Finally, after a voyage of nearly 4,000 miles, they came at last to the Atlantic Ocean-the first men to cross South America at its widest part
2006-07-12 17:58:00 · answer #1 · answered by Pyara_sweet_abhi 4 · 5⤊ 1⤋
"The Cape of Good Hope was first rounded by Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 and he named it the "Cape of Storms" (Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed by John II of Portugal as "Cape of Good Hope" (Cabo da Boa Esperança) because of the great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to the east."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_of_good_hope
2006-07-13 00:59:17 · answer #2 · answered by Grumpy Kansan 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
because traveling around the tip of africa was a nightmare for sailors.
2006-07-13 00:58:38 · answer #3 · answered by got_deam_munalla 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋