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Exploration (1450-1900)

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 is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes 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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1620, Year of the Pilgrims
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
in New World Colonization (Location: HISA-17NW)
Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo
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by Richard Walsh
from Random House
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by Sandra Markle
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
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Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
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Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Around the World in a Hundred Years
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from Scholastic Inc.
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in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.50 (3 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 Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Balboa: Swordsman and Conquistador
World Landmark #25
by Felix Riesenberg, Jr.
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Book of Discovery
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-12th grade
in Yesterday's Classics (Location: FIC-YC)
$17.95
Builders of the Old World
by Gertrude Hartman
from Little, Brown & Company
for 7th-12th grade
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$5.50 (1 in stock)
By Right of Conquest
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from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
By Right of Conquest - MP3 CD
by Jim Hodges
from Jim Hodges Productions
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$17.50
Captain Cook and the South Pacific
by Oliver Warner
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
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Captain Cook Explores the South Seas
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from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
Hans Christian Anderson Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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from A Beka Books
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in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
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in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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by Eric Tomb
from Bellerophon Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Columbus
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from Beautiful Feet Books
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26
Columbus
by John Dyson
from Simon and Schuster
Biography for 7th-12th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
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Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
from Scholastic Inc.
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in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
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by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$3.74 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Commodore Perry in Japan
by Robert Reynolds
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
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by Russell Owen
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Cortes and the Aztec Conquest
by Irwin R. Blacker
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Despite All Obstacles
by Joan Elizabeth Goodman
from Mikaya Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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by Peter and Connie Roop
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
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from Vintage Classics
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in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
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Discovery of New Worlds
Story of the World Series #2
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from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$7.99
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by Anita Ganeri, Andrea MIlls
from DK Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
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from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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DK Eyewitness Series
by Rupert Matthews
1st edition from DK Publishing
HIstory Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Early American History - Your Story Hour CDs
by Your Story Hour
from Your Story Hour
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Your Story Hour Audio Dramas (Location: CD-YSHCD)
Early American History for Intermediate Grades
by Rea Berg
2nd edition from Beautiful Feet Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
Early American History for Primary Grades
by Rea Berg
3rd edition from Beautiful Feet Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$29.95
Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
for 1st-6th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
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Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
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Cambridge Introduction to World History
by Trevor Cairns
from Cambridge University
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in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
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The American Story Series
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
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in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
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by David Rootes
from Silver Burdett Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration of Africa
by Thomas Sterling
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
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Exploration of North America - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dover Coloring Books (Location: COL-DOV)
$3.74 $3.00 (1 in stock)
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Landmark #17
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Explorers
CTP Theme Series
by Glenda Nugent
from Creative Teaching Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Exploration (1450-1900) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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