Francisco de Orellana heads down the Amazon River in a desperate bid to return to civilization.

Francisco de Orellana and Gonzalo Pizarro head over the Andes in search of El Dorado - the City of Gold. Instead, they only find death, forcing Orellana to begin a desperate 4,000 mile journey down the Amazon to reach safety.

Zheng He commands the legendary Chinese Treasure Fleet, which sailed the Indian Ocean in the 15th century

Étienne Brûlé, the most famous of the Coureur de bois, explores the lands around the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes

In one of the greatest journeys of survival - and exploration - ever recorded, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca begins a 2,500 mile trek across Mexico in a bid to return to Spanish territory.

Stranded and alone in modern day Texas, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca begins a remarkable eight year struggle to return home.

Spanish conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez heads to Florida in search of gold - only to find lots and lots of misery

Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias becomes the first man to round the southern tip of Africa

Mungo Park returns to West Africa with a large expedition, determined to map the Niger River and find the city of Timbuktu

Scottish explorer Mungo Park ventures into West Africa to find the Niger River and the legendary city of Timbuktu

Italian explorer John Cabot, sailing for England, becomes the first European to land in North America since Leif Erikson.

The father and son duo of Erik the Red and Leif Erikson found the colony of Greenland, and become the first Europeans to arrive in North America.

Zebulon Pike sets off into the Louisiana Territory

American explorers, including Zebulon Pike, set out to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory

Balboa sets off to find the mysterious sea on the other side of the mountains

Balboa and the Spanish quest for gold leads him to establish the first permanent European colony in the Americas

Juan Sebastián Elcano takes the reins of the fleet as they try and finish the circumnavigation of the world

Magellan and the Armada de Molucca set sail across the Pacific in search of the Spice Islands

Magellan sets sail for South America to find the strait that will take him to the Western Sea

Magellan plans his daring expedition to the legendary Spice Islands