Lesser Known Explorers Quiz / Test | People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In the 5th or 6th centuries BC, in and around the western coast of Africa

Answer: Hanno the Navigator

Hanno the Navigator was an explorer from Carthage. He is best known for exploring the western coast of Africa, possibly as far south as Gabon, according to some sources. However it is only confirmed he reached as far south as modern-day Senegal. The purpose of his expedition was actually to start new colonies along the North African coast, which he did successfully in what is now Morocco.

2. In the mid-19th century, the Arctic Region

Answer: Robert McClure

Robert McClure was an Irish explorer best known for being the first person travel the travel through the Northwest Passage, which he accomplished with a crew in 1850. However, McClure in his crew were trapped in the Northwest Passage for three years and had to be rescued by the HMS Resolute.

The HMS Resolute would also later get trapped in the same ice. McClure became something of national hero and he was acquitted of charges of abandoning his ship, the HMS Enterprise (which technically belonged to the Crown).

3. In the mid-16th century, Brazil where he was captured by cannibals

Answer: Hans Staden

Hans Staden was a German explorer and soldier who went on the Brazilian expedition because he had a strong desire to travel. Despite being German, he was actually on a Portuguese expedition. While in Brazil in 1552, Staden was captured by the Tupinamba people who were enemies of the Portuguese.

Staden eventually became well liked by his captors because he was able to heal their king. However, they refused to grant him his freedom and he ultimately escaped in 1555. In 1557, Staden published an account of his captivity called "True Story and Description of a Country of Wild, Naked, Grim, Man-Eating People in the New World".

4. In 1503, Mecca and the Arabian Peninsula

Answer: Ludovico di Varthema

Ludivico di Varthema was an Italian explorer who traveled all over the world. Not much is known about his life except what he wrote about his own travels. He is believed to be the first non-Muslim European to perform a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca.

While in Mecca, he was accused of being a spy but managed to talk his way out that. Besides exploring the Arabian Peninsula, Varthema also visited Persia, India and Borneo.

5. In the late 1630s, the length of the Amazon River

Answer: Pedro Teixeira

Pedro Teixeira was a Portuguese explorer who became the first European to travel the entire length of the Amazon River in 1637. Teixeira's expedition to the Amazon was for many reasons. One was to investigate the Spanish lands in South America, particularly along the Amazon River.

Another was to rescue missionaries who had abandoned their work and fled from the native people. Teixeira's expedition along the Amazon allowed Portugal to expand its lands in South America significantly.

6. In the late 16th century, Angola looking for silver

Answer: Paulo Dias de Novais

Paulo Dias de Novais was the grandson of the more famous explorer Bartolomeu Dias. Paulo Dias de Novais was the first Captain-Governor of Angola when it became a Portuguese colony in 1575. He was searching for silver, in particular the silver mine of Cambambe. Much of the original Portuguese settlements in the Cambambe are in ruins today.

7. 1831-1846, eastern Australia which he mapped

Answer: Thomas Mitchell

Thomas Mitchell was a Scottish explorer best known for surveying the eastern parts of Australia, specifically the area that is now New South Wales and Queensland. He made four expeditions between 1831-1846 and each time mapped new areas of Australia, particularly the inland rivers and mountains ranges.

He was said to have had a good relationship with the Aboriginal people whom he often hired as guides.

8. In 1675, South Georgia Island, which is part of Antarctica

Answer: Anthony de la Roche

Anthony de la Roche was Anglo-French merchant who accidentally landed on South Georgia Island, Antarctica after his ship was blown off course on the way to Brazil. He is believed to be the first person to discover land in the Antarctic region. While trying to get back on course to Brazil, de la Roche also came across some other uninhabited islands like Gough Island which were have previously discovered by other explorers but were unclaimed.

9. In the early 20th century, China, specifically the Silk Road

Answer: Langdon Warner

Langdon Warner was an American professor of Eastern Art. He went to China and traveled along the Silk Road for research and discovery purposes. He generated a lot of controversy by removing artifacts and by sometimes damaging the ancient art. He was known to try to copy cave paintings by applying a chemical to a cloth and then pressing the cloth over the painting.

Although he had some success in this, he often damaged the art without copying it.

10. In the late 19th, early 20th centuries, the Himalayas

Answer: Fanny Bullock Workman

Fanny Bullock Workman was one of the world's first female mountaineers. She and her husband, William, were American world travelers. She had a life long interest in climbing and mountaineering which she developed in the United States. Both she and her husband were wealthy socialites and spent most of their time traveling the world without their children.

Their enjoyment for mountaineering was escalated when they visited in the Himalayas in 1899 and made eight trips to the region in fourteen years. The Workmans had trouble with locals so they had to hire European guides who would often abandon them when the terrain became to rough to cross. Fanny Workman's greatest achievement was climbing the 22,735-foot Pinnacle Peak in the Himalayas. Those who traveled with her said she was barely affected by altitude sickness that would plague the experts.

Source: Author Joepetz

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Lesser Known Explorers Trivia Quiz

Match these lesser known explorers to place he or she explored and when he or she traveled there.

Questions		Choices
1. In the 5th or 6th centuries BC, in and around the western coast of Africa		Ludovico di Varthema
2. In the mid-19th century, the Arctic Region		Robert McClure
3. In the mid-16th century, Brazil where he was captured by cannibals		Hans Staden
4. In 1503, Mecca and the Arabian Peninsula		Langdon Warner
5. In the late 1630s, the length of the Amazon River		Pedro Teixeira
6. In the late 16th century, Angola looking for silver		Paulo Dias de Novais
7. 1831-1846, eastern Australia which he mapped		Hanno the Navigator
8. In 1675, South Georgia Island, which is part of Antarctica		Anthony de la Roche
9. In the early 20th century, China, specifically the Silk Road		Thomas Mitchell
10. In the late 19th, early 20th centuries, the Himalayas		Fanny Bullock Workman