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hi this is Anita from the Dusty Roads
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podcast At the Dusty Roads we believe in
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living our life as a global citizen We
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also love to talk a lot about history
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because we are great believers that to
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understand other cultures countries
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people or societies that history can
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help to show us the way If you've
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listened to me you know that one of the
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things that I love is sailing But today
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I'm not going to talk about sailing
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specifically but more about explorers
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and some of their adventures and how
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they really helped to shape um human
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history in a lot of ways I'm going to
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list out 10 of the more popular ones Of
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course one when we talk about it is
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Mellin Fernando Mellin from 1480 to uh
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1521 He was the first circumnavigator He
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was a Portuguese sailor and I this is
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what I love about the Portuguese is they
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were really great sailors and he led to
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the first successful circumnavigation of
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the globe His expedition in 1519 to
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1522 proved the world was round and much
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more extensive than previously thought
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So here's a man who wasn't afraid to
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think he was going to go off the deep
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end and disappear forever In fact he
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proved that the world was actually round
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He wasn't afraid of that I really love
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that about him because he really shows
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courage He he proved the feasibility of
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naval of global navigation He discovered
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the straight mellan and a central route
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connecting the Atlantic and Pacific
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oceans and he expanded European
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understanding of world geography You
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know some lessons we can learn today
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from him is that he teaches about the
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perseverance in the face of adversity
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starvation mutinies and uncharted waters
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His journey reminds us that bold
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exploration requires both courage and
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meticulous planning And that's why he
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makes it as my number one as one of the
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explorers The other one of course is
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Christopher Columbus which was from 1451
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to 1506 He became known as a new world
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pioneer He was an Italian navigator He
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was sailing under the Spanish flag and
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he embarked on the famous voyage of
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1492 His aim was to find a westward
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route to Asia Instead he landed in the
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Caribbean opening the Americans to
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European exploration and colonization
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You know why he's important is he
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initiated the European colonization of
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America He demonstrated the possibility
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of transatlantic travel and he changed
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global trade and cultural exchanges
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forever So because of Christopher
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Columbus he really changed the world
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What we can learn from him is that
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Columbus's journey emphasizes the
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importance of taking calculated risks
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While controversially um due to the
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impact of colonization his voyage
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reminds us of the power of curiosity and
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the drive to push beyond perceived
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limits And of course because of
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Christopher Columbus we celebrate
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Thanksgiving Day and we also in America
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and we also have the colonization of
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America James Cook was from 1728 to
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1779 and he is known as a Pacific carder
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He was an explorer but he made three
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significant voyages to the Pacific
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mapping vast areas of the region
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including Australia New Zealand and
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Hawaii His meticulous charting and
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scientific approach revolutionized naval
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exploration He created some of the most
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accurate maps of the Pacific which of
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course allowed then other explorers to
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go after him He discovered and
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documented me many previously unknown
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lands and cultures and he advanced
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maritime navigation techniques even
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though he's a bit controversial because
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of the Hawaiian islands but he really
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was Cook was known to be methodical and
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scientific approach and he teaches the
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value of preparation and adaptability
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and he had a great commitment to
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knowledge and discovery that remains a
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model for even modern-day explorers
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Leaf Ericson He was a Viking and he was
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sort of a trailblazer for all of these
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He was a Norse explorer and believed to
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have reached North America around 1,000
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nearly 500 years before Columbus So you
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know he really was not afraid to go out
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into that deep ocean and go long way
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away He established a settlement of
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Vinland modern-day New Foundland Canada
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proving that the Vikings had the
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capability for transatlantic exploration
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He's important because one of the first
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Americans to reach North America he
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demonstrated the maritime proudness of
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the Vikings you know that the Vikings
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were not to be messed with that the
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Vikings were there that they were going
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to establish trade He established early
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trade and cultural exchanges to the
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North Atlantic His journey teaches us
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the significance of oral history and
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exploration beyond the familiar His
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story reminds us that discovery is not
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always about conquest but also the
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resilience of travelers seeking new
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lands Another one which most people
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don't even really know about is a is a
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Chinese explorer named uh Zong Hu and
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he's was China's great admiral He was
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And during the early 15th century
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Chinese explorer Zong Ha led seven
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massive expeditions across the Indian
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Ocean reaching as far as Africa and the
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Middle East His fleet more significant
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than any other that Europe had helped
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expand Chinese influence throughout
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diplomacy and trade He showcast a lot of
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China's advanced naval technology which
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at this time was quite advanced compared
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to the rest of the world He fostered
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trade and diplomatic ties with distant
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regions and he demonstrated peaceful
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exploration and cultural exchange Zong
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Ha's expeditions exemplify the power of
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diplomacy and exploration and his legacy
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teaches us that expanding knowledge and
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influence does not always require
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conquest That he really was a true and
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pure explorer Next on my list is a
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Francis Drake And Francis Drake was from
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1596 He was known to be the daring
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privateeer and he was a sir Francis
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Drake He was an English sea captain and
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privateeer He became the first
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Englishman to circumvent the globe and
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his raids against Spanish ships and
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colonies made him a hero in England and
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a villain of course in Spain He
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strengthened England's naval power He
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disrupted Spanish dominance in the
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Americas and he established English
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reputation as a significant maritime
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force Teaches us that the role of
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strategic thinking and navigation and
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conflicts and his ability to adapt to
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changing circumstances made him
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formidable explorer and leader
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Bartholomew Diaz was from 1450 to the
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1500s He was the first to round Africa
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and he was a Portuguese explorer He was
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the first European to sell around the
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southern tip of Africa the Cape of Good
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Hope He proved that a sea route to Asia
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was possible He facilitated Portuguese
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dominance to the spice trade and
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advanced European knowledge of the
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Atlantic and Indian oceans He shows us
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how important persistence was He took
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the risks and he was able to navigate
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this very important horn around Africa
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Henry Hudson became the Arctic explorer
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He sought the elusive Northwest Passage
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to a Asia Though unsuccessful he
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explored vast areas of North America
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including the river and bay that now
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bears his name Hudson Bay of course And
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he's important because he mapped parts
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of North America and the Arctic He
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contributed Dutch and English
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territorial claims and he expanded
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geographical knowledge despite his
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tragic disappearance You know today we
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can learn from him his fate that a crew
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mutiny reminds us of the risks of
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leadership and uncharted territories His
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persistence in seeking new routes
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remains an inspiration Vaso de Gama he
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was an Indian ocean trailblazer and he
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was from 1460 to 1524
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He was a first European to reach India
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by sea establishing a direct maritime
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trade route between Europe and Asia He's
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important because he opened up the spice
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trade for Portugal He bypassed overland
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routes controlled by other powers and he
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strengthened European presence in the
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Indian Ocean He demonstrates the
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economic impact of exploration and his
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success paved the way for global trade
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demonstrating long-term benefits of
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navigation Jean Barllet from 1740 to
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1870 Now I love her because she's the
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first woman to circumvent the globe A
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woman that was way ahead of her time She
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was a French botonist and disguised
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herself as a man to join an 18th century
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expedition became the first woman to cir
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circumvent the world Why she's important
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is because she broke gender barriers in
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exploration She collected valuable
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botanical specimens and proved that
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curiosity and resistance know no bounds
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A lesson we can learn from her today is
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to show determination in breaking
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societal norms And her contribution
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reminds us that expiration should be
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open to all to all genders You know even
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especially uh women where women at the
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time were not it was not open to them at
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this time But yet she made sure that it
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If you'd like to be able to read my blog
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on this there'll be a link in the the
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description for this my U post which is
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called Sailing Through History: 10
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Famous Maritime Explorers and Their
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Adventures I love these maritime
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explorers because I feel like they're
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really the true adventures These were
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people that went to unknown territory
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didn't know where they were going didn't
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know what they would find did not even
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know if they'd return I mean imagine
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their families It's like you know you
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leave for 3 years four years have no
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idea whether you're going to ever see
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them again and you just wait and wait
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and wait for them to return to see if
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they're ever going to return home again
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So these are really the true explorers
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who really went out there and explored
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the world And because of them we owe
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them a great debt of gratitude for the
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things that they were explored the
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routes that they opened up and all the
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many other things that they did Thank
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you so much for listening We tr truly do
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appreciate you listening to the Dusty
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Roads podcast And if you'd like to we
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hope that you'll join our community um
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become part of us and that you'll press
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that subscribe button Thank you so much