Age of Exploration

By Deane Barker • • tags: history •

The informal period from the 1400s to the 1700s when Europeans sailed the ocean to new lands.

Here’s a list of some of the places Europeans visited (“discovered”) during this period.

At the end of this period, humans had – for the first time – a basic knowledge of all the major land masses on the globe. There were fewer “unknown areas,” and shipping had advanced to the point where trans-ocean voyages were common and relatively reliable.

Why I Looked It Up

I had heard the term for years. My notes say I stumbled across in – probably in some book - in September.

(It might have been this book: Origins of a Journey)

↓ Inbound link from – Intellectual and Cultural Eras September 28, 2024

When considering ages or eras of history, framing is very important. The first thing you need to understand is that these time periods are wildly imprecise, for a couple reasons: (1) they naturally overlap, and (2) you need to decide the “altitude” from which you’re going to consider them. At the…