Age of Discovery

The Age of Discovery (15th-17th centuries) was a period of European exploration marked by the search for new trade routes, territorial expansion, and wealth. Key explorers like Columbus, da Gama, and Magellan charted new lands, leading to the establishment of global trade networks and European colonies in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. This era saw technological advancements in navigation, the Columbian Exchange of goods and diseases, and intense rivalry among European powers. While it expanded global knowledge and trade, it also brought significant upheaval to indigenous populations.

Summary

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Christopher Columbus. The Four Voyages. Translated by J.M. Cohen. Penguin Classics, 1969.
- Columbus's journals detailing his voyages to the New World.
Bartolomeu Dias. The First Voyage Round the World, by Magellan. Hakluyt Society, 1874.
- Accounts of Magellan’s circumnavigation.

Secondary Sources

J.H. Parry. The Age of Reconnaissance: Discovery, Exploration and Settlement, 1450-1650. University of California Press, 1981.
- Overview of European exploration and its global impact.
David Abulafia. The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus. Yale University Press, 2008.
- Exploration of first encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples.
Alfred W. Crosby. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Praeger, 1972.
- Impact of the exchange between the Old and New Worlds.