One of the most dramatic periods in world history is the age of Europe's discovery of the world from Columbus and da Gama in the late fifteenth century to the voyages of James Cook in the eighteenth century. The extent of the changes can be seen by comparing the pre-Columbian maps, which showed no knowledge of either the Americas or the Pacific, with those of 1800, which in terms of projection, scale, and content approximate today's maps. In these lectures, the most important discovery voyages, the individual characteristics of their commanders, and the endurance of their crews will be described. Interspersed with accounts of individual voyages will be lectures that explain the more general and technical aspects of the voyages: improvements in ship design and navigation, constraints of wind and current, living conditions on board ship, and problems of health and discipline. Special attention will be paid to the controversies that developed from some of these voyages.Lecture 1 The World Before Columbus
Lecture 2 The Voyages of Christopher Columbus
Lecture 3 The Voyage of Vasco da Gama and the "Sea Road" to the East
Lecture 4 The First Circumnavigation: The Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan
Lecture 5 The Second Circumnavigation: The Voyage of Francis Drake
Lecture 6 The Tools of Discovery
Lecture 7 Life at Sea
Lecture 8 Voyages of Delusion: The Search for the Northwest Passage
Lecture 9 The Pacific Ocean: The Great Unknown
Lecture 10 The "Rambling Voyages" of William Dampier
Lecture 11 Vitus Bering and the Russian Discovery of America
Lecture 12 The Pacific Voyages of James Cook
Lecture 13 The Revolution in Navigation and Health
Lecture 14 The World After Cook