Age of Exploration
Depending on the perspective, the Age of Exploration was a time of momentous discovery, in which humankind’s understanding of the world expanded at a rapid pace—or, it marked the beginning of an era of foreign domination. See both sides in this collection of historical resources.
Featured Materials
Lion of the Sea: Ahmad Ibn Mājid
Being a great sailor requires a lot of knowledge, and the greatest among them relied heavily on the collective learning that made crossing the vast Indian Ocean possible.
World Travelers
Ibn Battuta
Marco Polo
Zheng He (Graphic Biography)
Zheng He was the great admiral of the Ming Dynasty. Were his expeditions peaceful trade voyages or threatening campaigns of conquest and imperialism?
Indian Ocean Routes
From 1200 to 1450, the Indian Ocean was the center of world trade. Merchants from all over Eurasia, including the world’s largest empires, traded in this network.
Traveler Postcards
Time to write home! Craft a postcard from the perspective of a someone who traveled the world in the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
Traveler Postcards Excerpts
Time to write home! Craft a postcard from the perspective of a someone who traveled the world in the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
Technology in the Age of Exploration
The age of oceanic exploration was made possible when technologies and ideas from across Afro-Eurasia came together in fifteenth century Europe.
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