My Account Wish List Shopping Cart Log In
Store Location

Age of Exploration (1450-1700)

The early history of New World exploration reads like an old-style fantasy novel. Men from Europe literally traversed the North American continent looking for things like the City of Gold and the Fountain of Youth. With such a vast terrain ripe for discovery, there was really no way to prove those things couldn't be found, though not even someone as diligent as Juan Ponce de Leon was able to find any trace of such mystical destinations.

What they found instead was firm ground, mountains, jungles, rivers, deserts, exotic animals, and native inhabitants sometimes happy to greet them, sometimes happy to attack the newcomers. There are a lot of opinions and versions about the European exploration of North and South America, some of them accepted as standard, a few relegated to the conspiracy theorists' corner of shame, and one or two downright shocking.

Most historians agree that the initial Spanish and Portuguese insurgence, particularly in South and Central America, was occasioned primarily by greed and political jockeying. The big villain of this period was Hernan Cortes, a Spaniard who dealt freely in death, communicable disease, treachery, and gold between the Aztec empire and his own nation. It was said he pilfered so much gold his ships sank under it on the return journey.

Christopher Columbus has fared slightly better in the annals of history, though even his methods and motivations have fallen under suspicion. That he claimed the work of a missionary is now seen more as a burden for the Christian community to explain than as a noble mark in his favor. He also took gold, swapped diseases with the Indians, and provoked many to combat.

So what's the truth of all this? Are Europeans just a bunch of terrible people out to exploit everyone else? Is this merely liberal revisionism? The truth (as usual) is probably somewhere in between. Many of the explorers were pretty ruthless, but then again, the kind of personality that could accomplish something as arduous as the years-long journey to an unknown part of the world is bound to have some equally heroic flaws.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Related Links
Wikipedia article
58 Items found Print
Filter
Active Filters: Trade Paperback
Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Atlas of North American Exploration
by Glyndwr Williams, William H. Goetzmann
Oklahoma Paperbacks Ed from University of Oklahoma Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Book About Christopher Columbus
by Ruth Belov Gross, Illustrated by Syd Hoff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Brendan the Navigator
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
By Right of Conquest
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Christopher Columbus
by John Abbott
from A Beka Books
for 7th-10th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
by Bennie Rhodes
from Mott Media
for 4th-6th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Coloring Book of Great Explorers
by Eric Tomb
from Bellerophon Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Columbus and Cortez, Conquerors for Christ
by John Eidsmoe
from New Leaf Press
Biography for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Columbus Discovers America - Coloring Book
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Discoverers
by Daniel J. Boorstin
from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$22.00
Discovery of the Americas
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.99
Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
for 1st-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$8.99
Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$4.50 (3 in stock)
Europe Finds the World
Cambridge Introduction to World History
by Trevor Cairns
from Cambridge University
for 6th-9th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
The American Story Series
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.99 $4.50 (4 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Dreher
from Tor Classic
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Sansevere-Dreher, Illustrated by Ed Renfro
from Starscape
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
First Voyage to America
by Christopher Columbus
from Dover Publications
Historical Primary Sources for 10th-Adult
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.95
Four Voyages
by Christopher Columbus
from Penguin Classics
Historical Primary Sources for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$17.00
History News: Explorers
by Michael Johnstone
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
History of US Book 1
History of US Book 1
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Christopher Columbus
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$10.95
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Louise Chipley Slavicek
1st edition from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Kids Book of Canadian Exploration
by Ann-Maureen Owens & Jane Yealland
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
Light and the Glory for Children
by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
from Revell Publishing
American History Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Log of Christopher Columbus
by Christopher Columbus, translated by Robert Fuson
1992 Printing from International Marine / McGraw-Hill
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
Marco Polo for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Biography/Activity Book for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$17.95
Marco Polo: Voyager to the Orient
by Carol Greene
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
New World In View
To Pledge Allegiance #1
by Gary DeMar & Fred Douglas Young
from American Vision Press
American History Reference for 8th-10th grade
in To Pledge Allegiance (Location: HISCUR-US)
$15.00 (4 in stock)
Picture Book of Christopher Columbus
by David A. Adler
from Trumpet Club
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Picture History of Great Explorers
by Gillian Clements
from Frances Lincoln
for 3rd-4th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Pizarro and the Incas
Stories From History
by Nicholas Saunders
from School Specialty Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Questions and Answers About Explorers
by Christopher Maynard
from Kingfisher
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Search for the Northwest Passage
by Lucile McDonald
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
Spice and the Devil's Cave
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Dover Publications
for 4th-10th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Stories of America: Volume 1
by Charles Morris, Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 1st-6th grade
in Modern History (Location: HISW-MOD)
Story of Christopher Columbus - Coloring Book
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99
Story of Exploration
by Anna Claybourne
from Usborne
for 3rd-4th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Story of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$19.97 $10.00 (3 in stock)
Sweet Land of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$10.00 (3 in stock)
Traveling Man
by James Rumford
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Under Drake's Flag
by G. A. Henty
from Dover Publications
for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Under Drake's Flag
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Voyagers, The
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Wilfred Jones
from Smidgen Press
for 4th-8th grade
1926 Newbery Honor Book
Westward Ho!
by Charles Kingsley
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Westward With Columbus
by John Dyson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition?
What Was?
by Judith St. George
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?
by Jean Fritz
from Putnam Juvenile
for 2nd-4th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$7.99
Who in the World was the Forgotten Explorer?
by Lorene Lambert & Jed Mickle
from Well-Trained Mind Press
Picture Book Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.50
Who Was Christopher Columbus?
Who Was?...Series
by Barbara Bader
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was Daniel Boone?
Who Was?...Series
by Sydelle Kramer
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
World of Columbus and Sons
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
World of Columbus and Sons
by Genevieve Foster, edited by Rea Berg
Edited from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$21.95
Sign Up!

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Learn more about our store location and hours

Connect

503.655.1951

hello@exodusbooks.com

19146 Molalla Ave,
Oregon City, OR 97045