Wreckers: Disaster in the Age of Discovery

by Simon Park

A gripping new history of the shipwrecks and other failed voyages at the dawn of imperialism (15-16th C)


Wreckers sinks the old narrative of imperialism. In place of swashbuckling adventurers bringing home great riches. We see a series of failures on the part of the Europeans. Christopher Columbus suffers several shipwrecks and dies trying to persuade the world that America was, in fact, China. Vasco de Gama, known as the first European to reach India by sea, was in fact guided across the Indian Ocean by a Gujrati pilot.

Wreckers taps into a thirst for stories of the sea and throws myths we have long been told about European empire-building overboard, transporting readers instead on voyages tragically cut short and introducing them to new characters whose lives illuminate dark spots of a foundational period in world history. By looking at the disasters rather than the accomplishments we get a new and exciting take on history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

292 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 17, 2025

Reviews

[M D Stevenson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tedious retrospective p.c. anticolonialism

The author, expert medieval Portuguese linguist he may be, manages to ruin quite interesting detail to well known historical events by an irritating insistence on what he believes are novel interpretations of colonial history. In fact the two sided nature of the history, and it's problematic nature have long been accepted.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Characters I didn't know and stories I hadn't heard. A real joy to read of the disasters amongst the striving for empire, wealth and discovery.

[Zack Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a particularly deep or meaningful exploration of the topic. However, if this was your first time exploring the subject... you could do worse.