The Tudor venturers: Selected from The principal navigations, voyages, traffics, and discoveries of the English nation made by sea or over land and edited by John Hampden

by Richard Hakluyt

product_description

310 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Richard Hakluyt (c. 1552 or 1553 - 1616) was an English writer. He is principally remembered for his efforts in promoting and supporting the settlement of North America by the English through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America (1582) and The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and Discoueries of the English Nation (1589 - 1600).

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not really sure how to judge this book. I found it extremely dry an hard to get through (to the point where I skim-read sections of it), but then I often find Tudor-era history quite boring, so perhaps I'm just not the ideal audience for this. I thought book on travels like this, discussing journeys where new plants, animals, people and landmasses were encountered by Europeans for the first time would be more interesting. I picked up a few facts I didn't know, but in general I don't feel like I got much out of reading this.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating selections from the writings of Richard Hakluyt, arch promoter of the divine right of the English to colonise anywhere their ships would take them. In this collection are not only the manifold blessings of colonising America, but also the benefits of trade with Africa, Brazil and the Middle East as well as explorations to discover the Northwest passage. The bravery of the various sea captains is unquestioned, but so is what amounted to licensed piracy. I do find it amazing how a Tribal Chief from Brazil was brought back to England and presented at King Henry VIII's court.