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Toward the Setting Sun: Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, and the Race for America
The untold story of the rivalries and alliances between Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and John Cabot during the Age of Exploration.
When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the long-established trade routes to the East became treacherous and expensive, forcing merchants of all sorts to find new ways of obtaining and trading their goods. Enterprising young men took to the sea in search of new lands, new routes, new markets, and of course the possibility of glory and vast fortunes. Offering an original vision of the race to discover America, David Boyle reveals that the race was, in fact, as much about commerce and trade as it was about discovery and conquest.
Contrary to popular belief, Cabot, Columbus, and Vespucci not only knew of each other, they were well acquaintedColumbus and Vespucci at various times worked closely together; Cabot and Columbus were born in Genoa about the same time and had common friends who were interested in Western trade possibilities. They collaborated, knew of each others ambitions, and followed each others progress. As each attempted to curry favor with various monarchs across Europe, they used news of the others successes and failures to further their claims and to garner support from investors. The intrigue, espionage, and treachery that abounded in the courts of Europe provide a compelling backdrop for the intersection of dreams and business ventures that led the way to our modern world.
When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the long-established trade routes to the East became treacherous and expensive, forcing merchants of all sorts to find new ways of obtaining and trading their goods. Enterprising young men took to the sea in search of new lands, new routes, new markets, and of course the possibility of glory and vast fortunes. Offering an original vision of the race to discover America, David Boyle reveals that the race was, in fact, as much about commerce and trade as it was about discovery and conquest.
Contrary to popular belief, Cabot, Columbus, and Vespucci not only knew of each other, they were well acquaintedColumbus and Vespucci at various times worked closely together; Cabot and Columbus were born in Genoa about the same time and had common friends who were interested in Western trade possibilities. They collaborated, knew of each others ambitions, and followed each others progress. As each attempted to curry favor with various monarchs across Europe, they used news of the others successes and failures to further their claims and to garner support from investors. The intrigue, espionage, and treachery that abounded in the courts of Europe provide a compelling backdrop for the intersection of dreams and business ventures that led the way to our modern world.
421 pages, Hardcover
First published June 10, 2008
17 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
David Boyle
235 books54 followersDavid Courtney Boyle was a British author and journalist who wrote mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business, and culture. He lived in Steyning in West Sussex.
He conducted an independent review for the Treasury and the Cabinet Office on public demand for choice in public services which reported in 2013. Boyle was a co-founder and policy director of Radix, which he characterized in 2017 as a radical centrist think tank. He was also co-director of the mutual think tank New Weather Institute.
He conducted an independent review for the Treasury and the Cabinet Office on public demand for choice in public services which reported in 2013. Boyle was a co-founder and policy director of Radix, which he characterized in 2017 as a radical centrist think tank. He was also co-director of the mutual think tank New Weather Institute.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 2, 2017
The author's main thesis is that the three great explorers of the late 15th century -- Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, and Amerigo Vespucci -- were not only acquainted with each other, but that two (possibly all three) were partners in a business venture to reach Asia by sailing West across the Atlantic. After a span of 500-plus years, it is impossible to prove this assertion with direct, documented evidence, but he does raise some interesting and intriguing possibilities.
Where Boyle shines, however, is in the details. Very few history books have covered the period from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to roughly 1550 with such detail about Europe's political, social, religious, artistic, and cartographic developments. He also hints that the "discovery" of the American landmass in 1492 is still having repercussions to this day. I found this book extremely interesting and enjoyable.
Where Boyle shines, however, is in the details. Very few history books have covered the period from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to roughly 1550 with such detail about Europe's political, social, religious, artistic, and cartographic developments. He also hints that the "discovery" of the American landmass in 1492 is still having repercussions to this day. I found this book extremely interesting and enjoyable.
April 21, 2020
The book examines the interwoven stories of Columbus, Cabot, and Vespucci, and the back stories of Italian and Spanish aristocracy in the 1400s. I am always surprised how much we don't know about history. Was Columbus from Genoa? Was Cabot also from Genoa, how did he become a Venetian citizen? Did they know each other, and did they cooperate in their planning? Did Cabot make two or three voyages to North America? Had sailors from Bristol already discovered Newfoundland before Cabot's voyages? Did Cabot return from his final voyage or was he lost at sea? Did Cabot make landfall in Newfoundland or Nova Scotia? For hundreds of years it was believed that Sebastian Cabot discovered North America, rather than his father.
I read the book 1494 by Stephen Bown just prior to reading this book, they deal with many of the same events and characters, and make a good compliment.
I read the book 1494 by Stephen Bown just prior to reading this book, they deal with many of the same events and characters, and make a good compliment.
April 25, 2025
Highly entertaining survey of the voyages of Columbus, Cabot and Vespucci and their various attempts to find a route to the Indies by sailing west. His book is set in a world entering the Renaissance period and figures from the courts of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and England flit in and out of the story as the three voyagers seek finance and permission to set out on their journeys. His asides are highly entertaining and informative - I had no idea of the origin of the children's nursery rhyme I had a little nut tree - and give a rounder sense of the period.
January 7, 2024
I really enjoyed this. It is a good look into the lives of these three explorers, the world they inhabited and all the people involved in the age of global navigation. Refreshingly, it didn't shy away from the criticism and controversy of them and their treatment of the natives of the Americas.
August 18, 2022
A detailed and engaging read
September 1, 2023
Three biographies in one; fascinating book
October 22, 2024
Detailed
Boil does a beautiful job of combining the historical data with a narrative. He gives many footnotes and a tremendous bibliography. Very informative.
Boil does a beautiful job of combining the historical data with a narrative. He gives many footnotes and a tremendous bibliography. Very informative.
October 15, 2014
There need to be more narrative histories of the 15th century. In my opinion Europe had not seen so much change and upheaval since the fall of Rome as it did in this turbulent time.
This was a period defined by immense change and progress, a time of cataclysmic warfare, of the Renaissance and of world changing discoveries. Few eras have such a resonating echo down to modern times, and few events such an impact as the European discovery of America.
In David Boyle’s “Towards the Setting Sun” you get a good narrative history that intertwines the lives and achievements of the great European explorers, Columbus, Cabot and Vespucci, with the backdrop of the rich tapestry of 15th century Europe.
Boyle tells the story well, no easy task given the state of Europe in this time, refining it down to the spheres that his three main subjects lived in. The early chapters deal with their rise and struggle for funds and patrons to finance their costly and honestly insane voyages. While reading about Columbus I was reminded of some inventor or young entrepreneur building a business plan and attempting to convince multi millionaires to back them. Not quite the Apprentice or Dragons Den, but that’s essentially what he was doing.
His vignettes of people and places are evocative and entertaining and quite witty in some places, though I would never describe Ferdinand II of Aragon as a “striking figure, tall and good looking” to me he looks more like my image of Sancho Pança, but in general I liked his style. Of the three, Vespucci comes out the best, Columbus is more glamorous and controversial and Cabot the most mysterious.
The book is separated into long chapters, each subdivided handily into 3 smaller parts, in turn separated into smaller sections. It’s unlikely to tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the age of discovery or these three remarkable men, but it does put the age of discovery squarely in the context of the time, and these men’s stories in the context of each other, and it’s packed with information.
In that sense, this is a book is also about the “Scramble for America” or what some people thought was the Indies, with Portugal, Spain and England all racing west to find a shorter route to Asia, and then accurately identify the unknown west. Readers will find much more than tales of discovery, adventure and seamanship, it seems to sway backwards and forwards from the tales of the three discoverers to the courts of Europe, and I must say I actually found myself preferring the parts about the scheming plotting princes, something I didn’t expect. Doubtless others with more knowledge would challenge some of his assertions but I very much . All in all this is a good, lively account of how Europe looked west to find the east, and unexpectedly found out there was more to the world than had been hitherto thought.
This was a period defined by immense change and progress, a time of cataclysmic warfare, of the Renaissance and of world changing discoveries. Few eras have such a resonating echo down to modern times, and few events such an impact as the European discovery of America.
In David Boyle’s “Towards the Setting Sun” you get a good narrative history that intertwines the lives and achievements of the great European explorers, Columbus, Cabot and Vespucci, with the backdrop of the rich tapestry of 15th century Europe.
Boyle tells the story well, no easy task given the state of Europe in this time, refining it down to the spheres that his three main subjects lived in. The early chapters deal with their rise and struggle for funds and patrons to finance their costly and honestly insane voyages. While reading about Columbus I was reminded of some inventor or young entrepreneur building a business plan and attempting to convince multi millionaires to back them. Not quite the Apprentice or Dragons Den, but that’s essentially what he was doing.
His vignettes of people and places are evocative and entertaining and quite witty in some places, though I would never describe Ferdinand II of Aragon as a “striking figure, tall and good looking” to me he looks more like my image of Sancho Pança, but in general I liked his style. Of the three, Vespucci comes out the best, Columbus is more glamorous and controversial and Cabot the most mysterious.
The book is separated into long chapters, each subdivided handily into 3 smaller parts, in turn separated into smaller sections. It’s unlikely to tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the age of discovery or these three remarkable men, but it does put the age of discovery squarely in the context of the time, and these men’s stories in the context of each other, and it’s packed with information.
In that sense, this is a book is also about the “Scramble for America” or what some people thought was the Indies, with Portugal, Spain and England all racing west to find a shorter route to Asia, and then accurately identify the unknown west. Readers will find much more than tales of discovery, adventure and seamanship, it seems to sway backwards and forwards from the tales of the three discoverers to the courts of Europe, and I must say I actually found myself preferring the parts about the scheming plotting princes, something I didn’t expect. Doubtless others with more knowledge would challenge some of his assertions but I very much . All in all this is a good, lively account of how Europe looked west to find the east, and unexpectedly found out there was more to the world than had been hitherto thought.
July 11, 2012
Who discovered America? Christppher Columbus. Everyone says so. Anyway, I've seen the statue in Barcelona where he stands gazing out across the ocean.
Time for a rethink.
David Boyle's wonderful book first establishes that this is a tangled subject and then proceeds to unravel the strands with thrilling dexterity. The time is towards the end of the 15th Century. The motivation is the urge to bypass the long and winding trail of many hands that brings coveted spices from Asia. The world is only very partially mapped. To travel down the coast of Africa, round and beyond for unknown miles is unappealing and dangerous. Perhaps one might reach the east by sailing west. This is the story of three men who did, without actually arriving where they wanted to be.
The author makes the point that the three - Columbus, John Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci - were known to each other; and at various times they were partners, and at others rivals. Columbus and Cabot, indeed, were both born in Genoa. Vespucci was a Florentine. None was exactly a saint, Columbus probably the worst. In fewer than four hundred eminently readable pages, Boyle steers the reader through the overlapping careers. At the same time, he puts them in context - social, political, nautical and cosmological. The origins of later significant events are signposted - the conquest of Peru and Mexico, the American Civil War among them.
Above all, real human beings leap from the page. Through the three navigators we get to know Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile and Aragon, Henry VII and VIII, the Medicis, Savonarola, sundry popes, Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci. Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes make fleeting cameo appearances. The action moves from Genoa and Venice to Cadiz to Lisbon to Bristol to Hispaniola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic). How, in the end, did America come to be called America?
Finally, let me confess that in many books I find footnotes an irritating distraction. In Toward the Setting Sun they are not to be missed; many are small gems.
Time for a rethink.
David Boyle's wonderful book first establishes that this is a tangled subject and then proceeds to unravel the strands with thrilling dexterity. The time is towards the end of the 15th Century. The motivation is the urge to bypass the long and winding trail of many hands that brings coveted spices from Asia. The world is only very partially mapped. To travel down the coast of Africa, round and beyond for unknown miles is unappealing and dangerous. Perhaps one might reach the east by sailing west. This is the story of three men who did, without actually arriving where they wanted to be.
The author makes the point that the three - Columbus, John Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci - were known to each other; and at various times they were partners, and at others rivals. Columbus and Cabot, indeed, were both born in Genoa. Vespucci was a Florentine. None was exactly a saint, Columbus probably the worst. In fewer than four hundred eminently readable pages, Boyle steers the reader through the overlapping careers. At the same time, he puts them in context - social, political, nautical and cosmological. The origins of later significant events are signposted - the conquest of Peru and Mexico, the American Civil War among them.
Above all, real human beings leap from the page. Through the three navigators we get to know Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile and Aragon, Henry VII and VIII, the Medicis, Savonarola, sundry popes, Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci. Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes make fleeting cameo appearances. The action moves from Genoa and Venice to Cadiz to Lisbon to Bristol to Hispaniola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic). How, in the end, did America come to be called America?
Finally, let me confess that in many books I find footnotes an irritating distraction. In Toward the Setting Sun they are not to be missed; many are small gems.
March 13, 2009
The thesis of this book os that Cabot, Columbus, and Vespucci were collaborators and that they should be studies together rather than separately. However, Boyle spends most of the book discussing each man separately. While he indicates that Cabot and Columbus were co-investors at one point and that Vespuci was financially involved in some of Columbus' voyages, he does not spend any time building a true relationship betweent he me, analyzing their relationships or directly discussing the influence each man may have had on each other. Just because they knew each other does not mean that they influenced each other.
Rather than focusing on each man, this book might have been more interesting if Boyle had focused more on the economic, intellectual, and poitical context of Genoa which made it the home of three of the most important New World explorers. Of course, Boyls doe sgive some background about Genoa but he doesn't really explain how this place created these men. Why did Genoan boys grow up and change the world? I think that question is the key to this story.
I did learn some things from this book and I found that Vespucci was a more interesting character than I thought. He begins as a business man but becomes a curious intellectual. Alhtough I wish Boyle has focused on that change a little more too.
I was intrigued by Boyle's thesis but I feel that he did not approach ot from the right direction and that his book is not faithful to his thesis as a result.
Rather than focusing on each man, this book might have been more interesting if Boyle had focused more on the economic, intellectual, and poitical context of Genoa which made it the home of three of the most important New World explorers. Of course, Boyls doe sgive some background about Genoa but he doesn't really explain how this place created these men. Why did Genoan boys grow up and change the world? I think that question is the key to this story.
I did learn some things from this book and I found that Vespucci was a more interesting character than I thought. He begins as a business man but becomes a curious intellectual. Alhtough I wish Boyle has focused on that change a little more too.
I was intrigued by Boyle's thesis but I feel that he did not approach ot from the right direction and that his book is not faithful to his thesis as a result.
April 26, 2016
Three lives
The author has a very detailed historical account of these three explorers which has revealed many facts new to me. I had anticipated an enjoyable read but I'm afraid my enjoyment was spoiled by the inclusion in the text of far too many typos. I lost count of the times the word 'be' was shown incorrectly as 'he' and other words beginning with 'b' also suffered similarly, e.g. 'hankers' instead of 'bankers.' The author's 'brilliant editor' has done him a great disservice by missing so many obvious errors, and the author similarly has not covered himself in glory by including such schoolboy errors as 'fermenting rebellion' instead of 'fomenting rebellion'; 'precipitous departure' instead of 'precipitate departure' and the classic one of 'principle city' instead of 'principal city.' It is a great pity that these and other errors detract from the text which is otherwise very detailed and based on much historical research. I hesitate to recommend this book for the reasons given previously; I leave the choice to any potential reader.
The author has a very detailed historical account of these three explorers which has revealed many facts new to me. I had anticipated an enjoyable read but I'm afraid my enjoyment was spoiled by the inclusion in the text of far too many typos. I lost count of the times the word 'be' was shown incorrectly as 'he' and other words beginning with 'b' also suffered similarly, e.g. 'hankers' instead of 'bankers.' The author's 'brilliant editor' has done him a great disservice by missing so many obvious errors, and the author similarly has not covered himself in glory by including such schoolboy errors as 'fermenting rebellion' instead of 'fomenting rebellion'; 'precipitous departure' instead of 'precipitate departure' and the classic one of 'principle city' instead of 'principal city.' It is a great pity that these and other errors detract from the text which is otherwise very detailed and based on much historical research. I hesitate to recommend this book for the reasons given previously; I leave the choice to any potential reader.
September 22, 2011
Overall this was a decent book. I have read a few books on Columbus now. However, until I had read this book I had no idea that Columbus, Vespucci, and Cabot were so closely inter-related to one another. This book is partly theoretical as with almost any book on early explorers as certain aspects of their lives and progress are unknown. One can only make educated assumptions based on known facts surrounding the times much in the same way a crime is solved based on clues. The book went on a tangent from time to time explaining the times surrounding Columbus, Vespucci, and Cabot but I suppose in the end it was a necessary diversion from the main story line to allow unknowing readers such as myself to grasp an understanding of life and politics back then.
March 13, 2009
I was very interested in the view that this book presents about the rivalries and interactions among Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, and Amerigo Vespucci. However, I was constantly getting lost in details that I didn't understand or wasn't remembering from several pages previous.
If I hadn't recently traveled to Turkey there would have been a few things in the early part of the book that I wouldn't have comprehended. Also, the lack of maps in the book was a bit frustrating. Maybe if I had spent a lot more time studying history I would have gotten into this book a bit more. Maybe since I had just finished a well-written book by David McCullough, it made this book difficult to read.
If I hadn't recently traveled to Turkey there would have been a few things in the early part of the book that I wouldn't have comprehended. Also, the lack of maps in the book was a bit frustrating. Maybe if I had spent a lot more time studying history I would have gotten into this book a bit more. Maybe since I had just finished a well-written book by David McCullough, it made this book difficult to read.
February 7, 2012
On the one hand I enjoyed David Boyle's writing style. The pace never slacked, he engaged me in the story, and there were lots of trivia and footnotes which I'm a sucker for.
Having said that, though, the main reason Boyle wrote this book was to convince me, the reader, that the legendary Christopher Columbus, John Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci not only knew each other, they were working together under a super secret pact of discovery and exploitation. The book is liberally peppered with "Maybe," "Might Have," and "Perhaps" but I was given no concrete evidence of the author's theory. So in this case, Boyle has failed. I ain't buying it.
Having said that, though, the main reason Boyle wrote this book was to convince me, the reader, that the legendary Christopher Columbus, John Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci not only knew each other, they were working together under a super secret pact of discovery and exploitation. The book is liberally peppered with "Maybe," "Might Have," and "Perhaps" but I was given no concrete evidence of the author's theory. So in this case, Boyle has failed. I ain't buying it.
April 16, 2012
My mind kept wandering as I tried to slog through this rather comprehensive account of the lives of Columbus, Vespucci, and Cabot (three Italian merchants at the heart of the age of exploration). Boyle might be a great researcher, but I give him poor marks as a storyteller, and I am afraid a historian needs to be able to master both skills.
April 9, 2009
Very nice link between big thinking, desperate economies and the random inventions that instigate global change.
December 8, 2014
This may actually really be a three star book, but the subject matter fitted I with what I was very interested in at this time, and I found it fascinating.
February 11, 2015
amazing story behind de Gama, columbus, vespuchi, cabot and the politics of the Tordesillus line and the uphevals created by descovery of the new world.
April 6, 2015
Very interesting - draws on new information and spins an intertwined theory of collaborative exploration that made me wonder why I was reading it for the first time.
January 8, 2016
Again, I needed to use this book for National History Day. It wasn't really as interesting as the book Amerigo.
December 25, 2016
Good summary of the race of exploration. Had some questions on how probable certain statements were. Notes for self.
August 27, 2015
Great read!!!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews