
Navigations
The Portuguese Discoveries and the Renaissance
Malyn Newitt(Author)
Reaktion Books (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 24. April 2023
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-1-78914-702-5 (ISBN)
Description
Navigations re-examines the Portuguese voyages of discovery by placing them in their medieval and Renaissance settings. It shows how these voyages grew out of a crusading ethos, as well as long-distance trade with Asia and Africa and developments in map-making and ship design. The slave trade, the diaspora of the Sephardic Jews and the intercontinental spread of plants and animals gave these voyages long-term global significance.
The voyages of discovery are narrated within the context of Portuguese politics, and this book describes the role of the Portuguese ruling dynasty - including its female members - in the flowering of the Portuguese Renaissance and the distinctive ideology of the Renaissance state, and in the cultural changes that took place within a wider European context.
The voyages of discovery are narrated within the context of Portuguese politics, and this book describes the role of the Portuguese ruling dynasty - including its female members - in the flowering of the Portuguese Renaissance and the distinctive ideology of the Renaissance state, and in the cultural changes that took place within a wider European context.
Reviews / Votes
Malyn Newitt writes with the breadth of knowledge that one would expect from a man who was the Charles Boxer Professor of History at King's College . . . Reaktion has issued a series of books on Renaissance lives for which Navigations will make a welcome companion . . . the impact of the voyages undertaken in the hundred years covered by this book fully deserve a detailed, wide-ranging forensic study such as Newitt provides. -- David Childs * Naval Review * Navigations is at once a history of the politics and economy of the world that drew Portuguese mariners ever further from their home ports and an exploration of the complex networks of people who facilitated their voyages, ranging from women in royal households to ship crews and local pilots who guided Portuguese ships to safe anchorages. Drawing on a long career as a historian and synthesizing the most recent scholarship, Malyn Newitt transforms the Portuguese age of discovery from the exploits of a few dozen heroic men into a scholarly discovery of contested interactions among technology, economics, cultural encounters, human frailties, and social ambitions. This book is an engaging and at times unsettling meditation on the long-term consequences of discovery and our need to reexamine their continuing global impacts. * Elizabeth Mancke, Professor of History and Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canadian Studies, University of New Brunswick * Few living scholars know as much about the Portuguese empire as Malyn Newitt. None writes about it with more confidence, clarity, critical acuity and common sense. His new book is the precious gift of a long lifetime's work and reflection, enlivened by moments of subtle humour and distinguished by objectivity, reliability and restraint in judgement. * Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, William P. Reynolds Professor of History, University of Notre Dame, and author of Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan * Navigations provides a much-needed re-examination of the Portuguese Empire of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, one that considers a varied and wide cast of participants. Persuasively argued and masterfully written, this book interlaces Portugal's "Age of Discoveries" with its European antecedents, context and impacts in vital ways. * Jorge Flores, University of Lisbon * One of the seminal episodes in world history was the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Portuguese discovery of and expansion into Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The historiography of the period, written mostly by Portuguese scholars, often portrayed this history as a series of celebrated events led by heroic personalities whose successes furthered Portugal's achievements and greatness. Questioning this formidable historiography, Newitt de-emphasizes these traditional portrayals and places the discoveries within the context of the European Renaissance and the less recognized parallel rise of comparable empires in Asia. Newitt envisions this history not as a series of dramatic enterprises but as a continuation of patterns already in process in both parts of the world. Written in a readable style, this volume shows the history as a collaborative effort between already famous discoverers and an often ignored, supporting cast of crews, soldiers, women, Sephardic Jews, and African captives. As the author suggests, the Portuguese discoveries were important for establishing commercial and cultural networks between rising world powers in the East and the West. This volume is an appreciated addition to the author's recent publications reinterpreting the international Portuguese historical experience. Highly recommended. * Choice *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
57 illustrations, 20 in colour
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78914-702-5 (9781789147025)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2023
Reaktion Books
€52.49
Available for download
Person
Malyn Newitt has taught at the universities of Rhodesia and Exeter, and until he retired was the Charles Boxer Professor of History at King's College London. His many books include The Braganzas (Reaktion, 2019).
Content
Introduction
1 Western Europe and the World before the Fifteenth Century
2 The Princes of the Avis Dynasty and the Beginning of Portuguese Maritime Exploration
3 The Social and Economic History of the Portuguese Atlantic Empire
4 The Portuguese Exploration of the West African Coast in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century: Cao and Dias
5 Portuguese Royal Women in the Age of Discovery
6 Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvares Cabral and Renaissance Portugal
7 Duarte Pacheco Pereira: Portugal's Complete Renaissance Man
8 Magellan: The Navigator as Epic Hero
9 Understanding the Portuguese Voyages of Discovery: A Long-Term Perspective
Glossary
The Avis Dynasty
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
1 Western Europe and the World before the Fifteenth Century
2 The Princes of the Avis Dynasty and the Beginning of Portuguese Maritime Exploration
3 The Social and Economic History of the Portuguese Atlantic Empire
4 The Portuguese Exploration of the West African Coast in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century: Cao and Dias
5 Portuguese Royal Women in the Age of Discovery
6 Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvares Cabral and Renaissance Portugal
7 Duarte Pacheco Pereira: Portugal's Complete Renaissance Man
8 Magellan: The Navigator as Epic Hero
9 Understanding the Portuguese Voyages of Discovery: A Long-Term Perspective
Glossary
The Avis Dynasty
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index