The Context of Exploration in European History
How exploration becoming a defining factor in modern European history.
The Age of Exploration
The Portuguese Empire and Search for Spice Routes
How Portugal laid the blueprint for European colonialism.
The First Transatlantic Voyages and Discovery of the “New World”
The earliest ventures across the Atlantic.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Role in Colonial Expansion
The barbaric practice of slavery that came to underpin the European colonial project.
The Legacy of “Discovery” and Modern Re-evaluations
The complicated impact of the Age of Exploration.
Native American Culture and the Columbian Exchange
The cultural exchanges that took place between Europeans and Native Americans.
European Settlers and Missionaries: Ideology and Conflict
The role of religion in the spread of European influence.
Improvements in Navigation and the Search for Longitude
How radical innovations in seafaring enabled a more globalized economy.
European Challenges to Iberian Dominance
How Spain and Portugal's international power waned in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Captain Cook’s Voyages and Quest for the “Southern Continent”
Captain Cook's exploration of the far reaches of the Southern hemisphere.
