Identify specific Europeans who participated in the exploration and conquest of the Americas, and ...

Answer: The ideal answer should include:
a. Bartolomeu Dias sailed to the Cape of Good Hope and paved the way for a route to the Indies for Portugal.
b. Vasco da Gama sailed to the Indies and gave Portugal the lead in expansion.
c. Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic and discovered the Americas, which gave Spain an advantage over its competitors.
d. Hernn Corts and Francisco Pizarro conquered, respectively, the Aztecs and the Incas, and brought wide stretches of land in North and South America under Spanish control.
e. Sir Walter Raleigh sponsored a colony on Roanoke Island; its failure temporarily stalled English exploration of the Americas.
f. Samuel de Champlain established a colony in present-day Quebec City and paved the way for Frances empire in North America.