Maritime Exploration in the Age of Discovery, 1415-1800

Despite earlier naval expeditions undertaken for reasons of diplomacy or trade, it wasn't until the early 1400s that European maritime explorers established sea routes through most of the globe's inhabited regions, uniting a divided earth into a single system of navigation. From the early Portuguese and Spanish quests for gold and glory, to later scientific explorations of land and culture, this new understanding of the world's geography created global trade, built empires, defined taste and alliances of power, and began the journey toward the cultural, political, and economic globalization in which we live today.

Ronald Love's engaging narrative chapters guide the reader from Marco Polo's exploration of the Mongol empire to Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, the search for a Northern Passage, Henry Hudson's voyage to Greenland, the discovery of Tahiti, the perils of scurvy, mutiny, and warring empires, and the eventual extension of Western influence into almost every corner of the globe. Biographies and primary documents round out the work.

Author: Ronald S. Love
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 09/30/2006
Pages: 248
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.11lbs
Size: 9.26h x 6.54w x 0.89d
ISBN: 9780313320439

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2007 pg. 87

About the Author

Ronald S. Love is Associate Professor of History at the University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA. He is co-editor of Distant Lands and Diverse Cultures: The French Experience in Asia, 1600-1700 (Praeger 2002). and is currently completing a book-length study of Franco-Thai relations from 1660-1690.