The Age of Discovery Overview
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans broke out of their continent to explore, trade, conquer, and colonize throughout Africa, Asia, and the new continent of America. By 1600, only Australasia remained unknown to Europeans. The explorers' motives were a mixture of greed (there were medieval tales of fabulous wealth in Asia), religious fervour (saving the souls of pagans), desire for fame and glory, and plain curiosity. In essence exploration was an overseas expression of the Renaissance: a new ‘human-centred’ world ready to conquer and question.
Image: Maris Pacifici by Abraham Ortelius. This map was published in 1589 in his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. It was not only the first printed map of the Pacific, but it also showed the Americas for the first time - from Wikimedia Commons
Gale World History in Context
Selected Books
Columbus and the Age of Discovery by
This comprehensive survey of the explorer's deeds and their aftereffects is the companion volume to a PBS television documentary series.
Call Number: E111.D69 1991ISBN: 0688085458Publication Date: 1991-10-01
Captain James Cook by
"James Cook, born in 1728, rose from the lowest ranks of the merchant marine, then through the Royal Navy, to become one of the most celebrated men of his time, the last and the greatest of the romantic navigator/explorers. His voyages to the eastern and western seaboards of North America, the North and South Pacific, the Arctic and the Antarctic, brought a new understanding of the world's geography and of the peoples, flora, and fauna of the lands he discovered." "Richard Hough's meticulously researched narrative captures all the excitement of this age of discovery and establishes Cook as a link between the vague scientific speculations of the early eighteenth century and the industrial revolution to come. He pioneered the use of new navigational technology, measuring and recording endlessly, producing maps of unprecedented accuracy. He revolutionized the seaman's diet, all but eliminating scurvy. Always seeking the truth of geography Cook was also an exploder of myths, among them that of the great southern continent imagined by earlier geographers and scientists."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Call Number: G246.C7H615 1995ISBN: 0393036804
Voyages to Paradise: exploring in the wake of Captain Cook by
Inspired by the voyages of Captain Cook, the author & photographer set off to retrace the life and travels of the man who opened up more of the world than anyone before him.
Call Number: G246.C7G68ISBN: 0870442848
The Last Voyage of Columbus : being the epic tale of the great captain's fourth expedition, including accounts of swordfight, mutiny, shipwreck, gold, war, hurricane, and discovery by
Columbus' fourth voyage is a saga of shipwreck, mutiny, discovery, and political treachery, yet his quest to find a passage to the Orient drove him onward in the face of peril.
Call Number: E118.D84 2005ISBN: 0316828831
Juan Ponce de Leon and the Spanish Discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida by
Juan Ponce de León was an important figure in the history of the Spanish colonization of what are today Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the southeastern United States. While many people are familiar with the name Ponce de León, only a handful know the historical truth of what Ponce did -- and did not -- do! Juan Ponce de León and the Spanish Discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida is the most extensive biography to date of this important but mis-represented figure in the early colonial history of America. Written by one of America's foremost experts on 15th and 16th century exploration and discovery, this book dispels the myths about Ponce de León and credits him with discoveries for which he previously has not been credited. The author assembles the most extensive collection ever of facts, reasoned inference, translations of critical documents, original maps, historical illustrations, and photographs bearing upon the life and legacy of this important figure. Ponce de León's life and legacy are examined in the context of Spain's ambitions in the New World during the 16th century.
Call Number: E125.P7 F87 2000ISBN: 093992384X
