Category: Age of Discovery
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Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World (2008) by Roger Crowley
Is Roger Crowley’s “Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Conquest for the Center of the World” a substantive and groundbreaking piece of sixteenth century history? No. Is it an engaging story wonderfully told? Absolutely. The author breaks the narrative into three equally weighted parts. The first sets…
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Guns, Sails, and Empires: Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400- 1700 (1985) by Caro M. Cipolla
In the late eighteenth century, Adam Smith observed that “in ancient times the opulent and civilized found it difficult to defend themselves against the poor and barbarous nations; in modern times the poor and barbarous find it difficult to defend themselves against the opulent and civilized.” In truth, the success of the “West against the…
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Nathaniel’s Nutmeg: Or, The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed The Course Of History (1999) by Giles Milton
You should be aware of a couple of things before reading “Nathaniel’s Nutmeg: Or, The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History.” First, despite the title, this book has little to do with Nathaniel Courthope and his reputed adventures. In fact, Courthope doesn’t even appear in the narrative…
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Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire (2015) by Roger Crowley
Everyone knows that in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Less well known, but dramatically more important in the near term, Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa and into the Indian Ocean in 1498. It was a triumph of seafaring and endurance that had the effect of a hydrogen bomb being dropped on the vibrant…
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Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (2017) by Laurence Bergreen
This book blew my mind. I don’t think “Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe” by Laurence Bergreen won any major awards or made any notable bestseller lists, and that’s a shame because it’s fantastic. I found my copy in a box at a flea market in eastern North Carolina.…
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