Exploration
Giovanni da Verrazzano was a Florentine explorer of North America who sailed under the French flag. He is known for being the first European (since the Norse) to explore the East Coast of the United States. In 1524 the King of France sent Verrazzano search for a “Northwest Passage” to Asia through North America. He explored the coast between Cape Fear in North Carolina and Newfoundland. He explored what is now New York Harbor and Narragansett Bay. He wrote accounts of lands and inhabitants he found. Some were accurate, but some were not. His return the same year gave France claim to all of North America. He sailed two more times to the Americas. On his last trip he was captured killed and eaten by cannibals. This is believed to be on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean Sea.