Cortés finds allies and establishes the first settlement in New Spain while coming into contact with the mysterious Aztec Empire

Hernán Cortés leads an army to Mexico to seek out the mighty empire to the west

The Franklin Expedition disappears in the Canadian Arctic while trying to find the Northwest Passage

Sir John Franklin leads two ships into the Arctic in search of the fabled Northwest Passage

Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin set off in Apollo 11 for the first lunar landing in history

Francis Drake leads the fight against Spain, including Singeing the King of Spain's Beard, and the Spanish Armada

Francis Drake and Golden Hind head across the Pacific to the Spice Islands, before rounding the tip of Africa and returning to England

Francis Drake passes through the Strait of Magellan and proceeds to attack the Spanish on the western coast of the Americas.

Francis Drake begins his circumnavigation of the globe, traveling toward the Strait of Magellan.

Francis Drake conducts three expeditions to the Caribbean, becoming the most hated main the Spanish Empire.

The early years of Francis Drake, including his voyages with John Hawkins

Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão travels down the coast of west Africa in the 1480s, becoming the first European to discover the Congo River, and setting the stage for others to round the tip of the continent.

See what happened to Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery after the conclusion of their epic trek

The Corps heads out of the Rockies and down the Missouri - the last leg of their epic journey.

Lewis and Clark lead the Corps east - up the Columbia River and over the Rocky Mountains

Lewis and Clark fight their way across the Rocky Mountains and make for the Pacific Coast

Lewis and Clark struggle up the Missouri River and find that there is no easy route over the Rocky Mountains

In the late summer and fall of 1804, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery head into the lands of the powerful Sioux nation, aiming to reach the Mandan Villages, located near modern-day Bismarck, North Dakota.

In this episode, Lewis and Clark head up the Missouri River in the spring of 1804.

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark prepare to lead the Corps of Discovery west in an attempt to reach the Pacific Ocean

In the final part of our series, Nellie Bly sails from Japan in a last push to defeat Phileas Fogg - and her rival, Elizabeth Bisland.

Delayed ships, monsoons and other obstacles test journalist Nellie Bly as she travels from France to Asia,

Nellie Bly and the Race Around the World

In about 325 BCE Pytheas of Massalia begins one of the first great voyages of discovery when he sets out into the land of the Celts to find the legendary island of Britain.

In the final episode in our seven-part series on Christopher Columbus, the Admiral and his crew find themselves stranded on the island of Jamaica.