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The Age of Reconnaissance: Discovery, Exploration, and Settlement, 1450-1650
The Age of Reconnaissance, as J. H. Parry has so aptly named it, was the period during which Europe discovered the rest of the world. It began with Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese voyages in the mid-fifteenth century and ended 250 years later when the "Reconnaissance" was all but complete. Dr. Parry examines the inducements―political, economic, religious―to overseas enterprises at the time, and analyzes the nature and problems of the various European settlements in the new lands.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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378 people want to read
About the author
John H. Parry
37 books4 followersJohn Horace Parry (J. H. Parry), a historian of the seas and the men who sailed them for trade and conquest, died Wednesday of a heart attack at his home in Cambridge, Mass. He was 68 years old.
Professor Parry came to this country from his native Britain in 1965 to join the history department of Harvard University as Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs.
He was the author of 10 books chronicling the era of seaborne discoverers and traders from the 15th through 18th centuries. At the time of his death, he was preparing a book on the times of Captain Cook.
He was born April 26, 1914. He spent some student years at Harvard before earning his doctorate at Cambridge University in 1938. His academic career was interrupted by five years of service in the Royal Navy in World War II, and he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. Wrote on Spanish Empire
His first book, ''The Spanish Theory of Empire,'' was published while he was on naval duty in 1940. Among his more recent volumes published in this country was ''The Spanish Seaborne Empire'' in 1966, relating the exploits of Cortes, Pizarro and other conquistadors.
''The barbarous courage and the brutal splendor of the conquest are not scanted by Mr. Parry,'' Charles Poore wrote, reviewing the book in The New York Times. ''But he also gives us much more precise knowledge about what went on from day to day, what people ate, how they established wages for slavery and or peonage, and so on, than we get from the pageantry school of historians.''
Professor Parry's later books included ''The Discovery of the Sea'' (1974) and ''The Discovery of South America'' (1979). After his naval service, he became a tutor and lecturer at Cambridge and then taught at University College of the West Indies. He was a visiting professor of history at Harvard in the mid-1950's before serving for four years as principal of University College in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Before his 1965 return to Harvard, Professor Parry served at University College of Swansea, Wales, and as vice chancellor of the University of Wales.
He is survived by his wife, the former Joyce Carter; a son, Michael, and three daughters, Joanna, Katherine and Elizabeth.
Professor Parry came to this country from his native Britain in 1965 to join the history department of Harvard University as Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs.
He was the author of 10 books chronicling the era of seaborne discoverers and traders from the 15th through 18th centuries. At the time of his death, he was preparing a book on the times of Captain Cook.
He was born April 26, 1914. He spent some student years at Harvard before earning his doctorate at Cambridge University in 1938. His academic career was interrupted by five years of service in the Royal Navy in World War II, and he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. Wrote on Spanish Empire
His first book, ''The Spanish Theory of Empire,'' was published while he was on naval duty in 1940. Among his more recent volumes published in this country was ''The Spanish Seaborne Empire'' in 1966, relating the exploits of Cortes, Pizarro and other conquistadors.
''The barbarous courage and the brutal splendor of the conquest are not scanted by Mr. Parry,'' Charles Poore wrote, reviewing the book in The New York Times. ''But he also gives us much more precise knowledge about what went on from day to day, what people ate, how they established wages for slavery and or peonage, and so on, than we get from the pageantry school of historians.''
Professor Parry's later books included ''The Discovery of the Sea'' (1974) and ''The Discovery of South America'' (1979). After his naval service, he became a tutor and lecturer at Cambridge and then taught at University College of the West Indies. He was a visiting professor of history at Harvard in the mid-1950's before serving for four years as principal of University College in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Before his 1965 return to Harvard, Professor Parry served at University College of Swansea, Wales, and as vice chancellor of the University of Wales.
He is survived by his wife, the former Joyce Carter; a son, Michael, and three daughters, Joanna, Katherine and Elizabeth.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 4, 2024
Parry embraces the curiosity, the avarice and the sense of obligation which prodded exploration in the years between 1425 and 1575 or so. The historical process was often muddled and beset with misfortune and the unexpected. It was also a period which was well-documented.
This scholar is meticulous, parsing the myriad types of vessels and how advances in sails and rigging afforded greater possibilities for travel. The author distinguishes between navigation and pilotage and provides serial references to demonstrate the curve required before safe routes were normalized.
He also broaches the more famed personages involved: da Gama, Cortes, Hudson etc. The treatment is brief but even handed.
I was duly impressed with the scholarship although the final section on the perils of colonial administration and legal protections towards the indigenous proved a bit taxing.
4.8 stars
This scholar is meticulous, parsing the myriad types of vessels and how advances in sails and rigging afforded greater possibilities for travel. The author distinguishes between navigation and pilotage and provides serial references to demonstrate the curve required before safe routes were normalized.
He also broaches the more famed personages involved: da Gama, Cortes, Hudson etc. The treatment is brief but even handed.
I was duly impressed with the scholarship although the final section on the perils of colonial administration and legal protections towards the indigenous proved a bit taxing.
4.8 stars
January 2, 2012
Deciding to reread this book now, two years later, was definitely the right choice. This book is fabulous. A masterful, brilliant, authoritative -- suffused with a poetry and spirit of man (humanitas) -- treatment of the principle saliant of the 16th-17th cen. European experience.
(This review was written close to 2 years ago; I finished the book at that time but, since the topic was basically new to me, I missed a lot -- and so I've decided I need to reread this one....)
This is, put simply, a magnificent book. Rich, detailed, insightful -- absolutely flawless in its scholarship, which is not at second-hand (as is, e.g., Jardine's) -- and humane.
The chapter on the economic background -- and the decline of Italy and the Mediterranean -- it is brief, but remarkably insightful. The chapter on ships is technical -- all about sails, jibs, lateens, caravels, galleons, and all sorts of other stuff I understand nothing about. Growing more confident about this book with every passing page, nonetheless...
After reading the opening two chapters, I can say that this seems to be a really masterful treatment... of a subject that I haven't read much about, admittedly. Written in 1963, the scholarship may well be out of date in places -- and the book was written before certain things became politically incorrect, which sometimes strikes the odd note. It is strange also to find Cortés and Spanish Counter-Reformation (Isabella and her Inquisition) described in terms of Renaissance ideas of the individual and of Machiavellian statecraft....
(This review was written close to 2 years ago; I finished the book at that time but, since the topic was basically new to me, I missed a lot -- and so I've decided I need to reread this one....)
This is, put simply, a magnificent book. Rich, detailed, insightful -- absolutely flawless in its scholarship, which is not at second-hand (as is, e.g., Jardine's) -- and humane.
The chapter on the economic background -- and the decline of Italy and the Mediterranean -- it is brief, but remarkably insightful. The chapter on ships is technical -- all about sails, jibs, lateens, caravels, galleons, and all sorts of other stuff I understand nothing about. Growing more confident about this book with every passing page, nonetheless...
After reading the opening two chapters, I can say that this seems to be a really masterful treatment... of a subject that I haven't read much about, admittedly. Written in 1963, the scholarship may well be out of date in places -- and the book was written before certain things became politically incorrect, which sometimes strikes the odd note. It is strange also to find Cortés and Spanish Counter-Reformation (Isabella and her Inquisition) described in terms of Renaissance ideas of the individual and of Machiavellian statecraft....
November 10, 2023
The book covers every aspect of exploration: the political and social background, the geographic and sailings, the bureaucracies of colonized areas and biographical sketches of explorers and my favorite, some geopolitical comments as well as the political theories underpinning and those criticizing the conquests. Loved parts II. and III. But Part I. was a problem. Just like every historian dealing with exploration, he writes as if the reader were an expert sailor. I found myself checking the dictionary and photos for a better understanding far more often than I wanted to. For example, just within a few pages I came across pintles, ratlines, "ship to tack," "brailing up the sail," bowges, bowlines, bonnets, ketch rig, barque, brig, brigantine, clinker-work, and mizen mast. I don't mind looking things up, but I think more of these terms should have been explained or accompanied by diagrams. I had similar problems with the astronomical terms related to navigation but I have no real excuse for that. I imagine when this book was written, many more educated people could read the skies than in the post-GPS world. In any case, from my reading over the years, and regardless of my weak technical vocabulary, I'm pretty sure this is one of the most cited book on the explorations of the period.
January 18, 2014
On the whole the book ably elucidates the various threads of European seafaring and "discovery." The chapter on sailing might as well have been written in Greek thanks to how little knowledge I have of maritime terminology. I was much more at home with the chapter discussing the origins of differing visions of international law promulgated by Vitoria, Las Casas, and Sepulveda. Wish I could have been at that debate between the latter two. It was probably a slobberknocker, bah gawd!
It's an older book and suffers from impolitic references to savage peoples, heathens, etc. I enjoyed it anyway. Huzzah.
It's an older book and suffers from impolitic references to savage peoples, heathens, etc. I enjoyed it anyway. Huzzah.
Read
September 28, 2015A formidable classic on the Western Expansion and the age of exploration. Parry provides a dense but excellent description of how the west was able to conquer and their motivations. His section on the development of scientific navigation is particularly good.
January 3, 2025
While this book was purported to be a brief summary of the age of exploration, it was actually very detailed in many areas and packs an immense amount of information and scholarship into a small volume.
My main takeaway is how trade is the underlying driver of so much of the expansion and also scientific advances. Wanting nice things to eat and fancy things to wear seems like an unlikely driver for civilisation building but there it is.
My main takeaway is how trade is the underlying driver of so much of the expansion and also scientific advances. Wanting nice things to eat and fancy things to wear seems like an unlikely driver for civilisation building but there it is.
October 16, 2024
A good premier on the age of European exploration. The first two sections are really well done. The third section you could easily skip as it goes beyond what the book is about, reconnaissance. The last section gets into the administration of colonies and trade, which isn't handled very well and really needs a different book dedicated to that topic.
November 10, 2021
I read this for a history class at my school. The language in this book is outdated though and somewhat offensive at times. Otherwise, very helpful In getting a clear picture of the political and religious atmosphere in the world during 1450-1650.
September 27, 2023
A little dense, with no attempt to decolonize. Quite the contrary, this is a story of who the europeans were and what pushed them and enabled them to launch the voyages that radically changed Europe and the world.
June 12, 2017
A solid if prosaic look at the age of exploration. Very much a school text if a better one than would be produced today.
Read
July 30, 2025Read for school
September 17, 2020
Saggio molto interessante e ben strutturato sull'Europa durante il periodo delle esplorazioni geografiche. Principalmente è diviso in tre parti: il contesto sociale, politico e religioso che ha dato la spinta e creato le premesse per partire, le capacità tecniche che hanno reso i viaggi possibili (particolarmente interessante a mio parere il capitolo sulle mappe, ma la cartografia mi è sempre incuriosita) e infine i vari itinerari: africa, Asia, Americhe.
Un testo preciso e pieno di stimoli, metodico nella presentazione delle informazioni. Parry Vi fa totalmente immergere nel contesto dandoci un quadro completo del periodo. Infine non ci risparmia una attenta analisi delle conseguenze per gli stati esploratori ed esplorati, sul piano politico e sociale.
Un testo preciso e pieno di stimoli, metodico nella presentazione delle informazioni. Parry Vi fa totalmente immergere nel contesto dandoci un quadro completo del periodo. Infine non ci risparmia una attenta analisi delle conseguenze per gli stati esploratori ed esplorati, sul piano politico e sociale.
Want to read
February 6, 2013June 5, 2014
Unexpected gem of popular history - I got it for a quarter from a Friends of the Library sale.
January 13, 2015
An excellent Text book on the Age of Exploration and Conquest. Enjoy!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews