Britannica Guide to Explorers and Adventurers

The Age of Exploration, which spanned roughly from 1400 to 1550, was the first time in history that European powers-eyeing new trade routes to the East or seeking to establish empires-began actively looking far past their own borders to gain a better understanding of the world and its many resources. The individuals who set out on behalf of the countries they represented came from a variety of backgrounds, and included master navigators such as Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan-the latter of whom was the first to circle the globe-as well as the often ruthless conquistadors of the New World such as Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes. The exciting and sometimes tragic lives and journeys of these and many others as well as the battles for empire that arose are chronicled in this engaging volume.

Technological advances-including pressurized cabins for hot air balloons, rocketry that powers spacecraft, and deep-sea diving gear-have changed the face of exploration. What hasn't changed since ancient times, however, is the bravery and inquisitiveness of intrepid individuals at the forefront of modern-day exploration and adventure. Those who have challenged conventional thinking, and sought to test physical limits of human endurance in the 20th and 21st centuries are the subjects of this exciting collection of biographies.

Crossing geographic and cultural boundaries at a time when much of the world remained uncharted was a challenge faced by ancient explorers. Long before the Golden Age of Exploration, an assortment of travellers ventured into the unknown, uncovering untapped riches of land and resources in the process. Readers will become familiar with the lives and journeys of these early explorers, whose number included dauntless leaders-Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Genghis Khan-who sought to establish vast empires and enterprising merchants such as Marco Polo.

Although the once-fuzzy outlines of the global map had largely been defined by the 19th century, much had yet to be learned. As some explorers continued to search either for resources or for unknown regions, others increasingly embraced a new kind of discovery-that of scientific knowledge. Readers will journey alongside a host of notable explorers, accompanying Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition-during which they both charted much of the United States and identified 178 new plants-and marvelling at Charles Darwin's revolutionary findings in the Galapagos Islands. Their explorations and many others are chronicled within these pages.

As the Age of Exploration came to a close, the world seemed to be a significantly smaller place than it once was, with more major landmasses identified on the global map. Yet questions and unknowns remained and details had yet to be filled in. Armed with greater knowledge and better equipment than their predecessors, explorers in the late Renaissance and Enlightenment eras took up the reins, with some discovering new routes and lands still while others carefully surveyed or settled lands already known. This lively volume details the lives of such individuals as Henry Hudson, Vitus Bering, James Cook, and Daniel Boone, among many others, as well as the explorations and discoveries of which they were a part.