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.
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Admiral of the Ocean Sea
by Samuel E. Morison
from Atlantic Monthly Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
American History Stories Volume 1
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Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
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Atlas of North American Exploration
by Glyndwr Williams, William H. Goetzmann
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Big Golden Book of Christopher Columbus and Other Early Adventurers
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Book About Christopher Columbus
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Book of Discovery
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By Right of Conquest - MP3 CD
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$14.00
California Missions Activity Book
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Captain Cook R. N. the Resolute Mariner
by Thomas Vaughan and A. A. St. C. M. Murray-Oliver
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Captive
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$9.00 (2 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
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$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
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Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
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Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
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Christopher Columbus and His Legacy
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by Mary Ellen Jones, Editor
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of the New World
by Jim Gallagher
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Christopher Columbus: His Story and His Journals
Knowledge Keepers Home Library Series 1492
by Edward Everett Hale and Edward Gaylord Bourne
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$12.00 (2 in stock)
Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
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Columbus Discovers America - Coloring Book
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Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
by Oliver Postgate & Naomi Linnell
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Discoverers
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$22.00
Discovery of New Worlds
Story of the World Series #2
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$13.95
Discovery of the Americas
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
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DK Atlas of Exploration
by Anita Ganeri, Andrea MIlls
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DK Eyewitness: Explorer
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DK Eyewitness: Explorer
DK Eyewitness Series
by Rupert Matthews
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Early American History for Intermediate Grades (really old)
by Rea Berg
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Early American History for Intermediate Grades - Guide
by Rea Berg & Rebecca Manor
3rd edition from Beautiful Feet Books
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$29.95
Early American History for Primary Grades - Guide
by Rea Berg
3rd edition from Beautiful Feet Books
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$29.95
Empires Lost and Won
by Albert Marrin
1st edition from Atheneum
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Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
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Era Of Exploration & Discovery 30,000 Years Ago the the 1600s
Focus on U.S. History
by Kathy Sammis
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Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
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Europe Finds the World
Cambridge Introduction to World History
by Trevor Cairns
from Cambridge University
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration of North America - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
Exploration, Revolution, and Constitution
American History Series
by Cindy Barden
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Explorers
by Mary Ellen Sterling
from Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Explorers
CTP Theme Series
by Glenda Nugent
from Creative Teaching Press
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Explorers & Discoverers - 4 Volume Set
from UXL Publishing
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$30.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
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Explorers to 1815 - Home Teacher Manual
3rd edition from Veritas Press
History Curriculum for 5th-7th grade
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$39.00
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Dreher
from Tor Classic
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Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Sansevere-Dreher, Illustrated by Ed Renfro
from Starscape
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Ferdinand Magellan
by Milton Meltzer
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Ferdinand Magellan and the Discovery of the World Ocean
by Rebecca Stefoff
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ferdinand Magellan and the First Voyage Around the World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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First Voyage to America
by Christopher Columbus
from Dover Publications
Historical Primary Sources for 10th-Adult
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Follow the Dream
by Peter Sís
from Dragonfly Books
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Four Voyages
by Christopher Columbus
from Penguin Classics
Historical Primary Sources for 9th-Adult
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$17.00
Francisco Coronado and the Exploration of the American Southwest
Explorers of New Worlds
by Hal Marcovitz
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of the Inca
by Gina DeAngelis
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Friar and the Knight
by Flora Strousse, illustrated by William Wilson
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Great Adventures That Changed Our World
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Great Explorers
by Joyce Grosseck & Elizabeth Attwood
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Great Explorers
by Jim Pipe
from Scholastic Inc.
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He Went with Champlain
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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He Went with Christopher Columbus
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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He Went with Drake
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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He Went with John Paul Jones
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He Went with Magellan
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He Went with Marco Polo
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He Went With series
by Louise Andrews Kent
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He Went with Vasco da Gama
by Louise Andrews Kent
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Henry Hudson
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Josepha Sherman
from Rosen Central
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hernando de Soto and the Exploration of Florida
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
History News: Explorers
by Michael Johnstone
from Scholastic Inc.
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
History of Human Society: Pioneer America
The History of Human Society
by John R. Alden
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
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$12.00 (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
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$15.95 $11.00 (1 in stock)
History Pockets: Explorers of North America
by Mike Graf
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
How Men Discovered the World
by Hans R. Hecke, illustrated by Nikolaus Plump, freely translated by Moya Gillespie
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
How Our Nation Began
Christian Social History Series
by Don Sharkey, Sister Margaret, and Rt. Rev. Msgr. Philip J. Furlong
from W. H. Sadlier
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
If You Were There in 1492
by Barbara Brenner
1st ed from Bradbury Press
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In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
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Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Christopher Columbus
by Peter & Connie Roop
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$3.00 (2 in stock)
Interactive Notebook: Discovery and Exploration
American History Series
by Schyrlet Cameron
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Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
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$10.95
Juan Ponce de Leon
by Louise Chipley Slavicek
1st edition from Chelsea House Publishing
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Juan Ponce de Leon
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Juan Ponce de Leon and the Search for the Fountain of Youth
by Daniel E. Harmon
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
Light and the Glory for Children
by Peter Marshall & David Manuel
from Revell Publishing
American History Reference for 4th-6th grade
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Livingstone and his African Journeys
by Elspeth Huxley
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Long and Uncertain Journey
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Magellan
by Michael Burgan
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Magellan and the Exploration of South America
by Colin Hynson
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Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
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Magic of Spices
by E. Joseph Dreany
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$25.00 (1 in stock)
Makon and the Dauphin
by Nan Hayden Agle, illustrated by Robert Frankenberg
from Charles Scribner's Sons
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo
by Manual Komroff
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
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$12.99
Marco Polo
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo
by Struan Reid
from Heinemann Library
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo and the Medieval Explorers
by Rebecca Stefoff
from Chelsea House Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$7.00 (2 in stock)
Marco Polo for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Biography/Activity Book for 4th-8th grade
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$17.95
Marco Polo: Overland to China
from Crabtree Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.95
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)
Meet Christopher Columbus
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$2.00 (2 in stock)
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