Navigations: the Portuguese Discoveries and the Renaissance

‘Few living scholars know as much about the Portuguese empire as Malyn Newitt. This 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 Fernández-Armesto, author of Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan

Now available in paperback, 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.