Read in the May 2025 issue of the IJMH (requires subscription) the review by Zoltán Biedermann of “Navigations: The Portuguese Discoveries and the Renaissance” by Malyn Newitt
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/08438714251332124
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.
IMHA 