Description
Book SynopsisNavigations re-examines the Portuguese voyages of discovery by placing them in their medieval and Renaissance settings. It shows how these voyages grew out of a crusading ethos, as well as long-distance trade with Asia and Africa and developments in map-making and ship design. The slave trade, the diaspora of the Sephardic Jews and the intercontinental spread of plants and animals gave these voyages long-term global significance. The voyages of discovery are narrated within the context of Portuguese politics, and this book describes the role of the Portuguese ruling dynasty - including its female members - in the flowering of the Portuguese Renaissance and the distinctive ideology of the Renaissance state, and in the cultural changes that took place within a wider European context.
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Western Europe and the World before the Fifteenth Century 2 The Princes of the Avis Dynasty and the Beginning of Portuguese Maritime Exploration 3 The Social and Economic History of the Portuguese Atlantic Empire 4 The Portuguese Exploration of the West African Coast in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century: Cão and Dias 5 Portuguese Royal Women in the Age of Discovery 6 Vasco da Gama, Pedro Álvares Cabral and Renaissance Portugal 7 Duarte Pacheco Pereira: Portugal’s Complete Renaissance Man 8 Magellan: The Navigator as Epic Hero 9 Understanding the Portuguese Voyages of Discovery: A Long-Term Perspective Glossary The Avis Dynasty References Bibliography Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index
