What Was the Age of Exploration?

What was...?

by Catherine Daly, Jake Murray

Land ho! Discover what the Age of Exploration was all about in this wonderful addition to the bestselling Who HQ series!

Before the fifteenth century, European sailors were unsure what waited for them beyond their well-known travel routes around the Mediterranean Sea, so they kept within sight of land. But all of that changed after Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal started sending ships down the coast in the hope of finding a sea route to India and Africa. This was the beginning of a giant leap toward understanding what the globe actually looked like. Certain European nations grew rich and powerful from the New World gold and lands they claimed, while advanced, long-standing civilizations like the Aztecs and Incas were destroyed in the cruelest of ways.

This book also features the fun black-and-white illustrations and engaging 16-page photo insert that readers have come love about the What Was? series!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens

112 pages, Paperback

Published March 9, 2021

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate that the last chapter briefly discussed the impacts of exploration on indigenous peoples. I would’ve liked that section to have gone a little bit deeper.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I read this out loud to my 5th and 3rd grader and I found it dry. History shouldn't communicate facts and facts alone. It should make you think and feel so as to want to remember. All the best history books have ever done that for me. And of you want kids to enjoy history, find something else. Not this.

[Kristi Clemow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting and a really good overview of the voyages and motivations. Would have preferred the book not to make judgments and say things like this was terrible, etc as that can bias young readers, but I suppose any author is entitled to write whatever they want. Overall I liked the book.

[Remy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually, the What Was series is fairly interesting (at least the books I've read), but this particular book was boring/dry. It also just had to insert in some "modern" day stuff like global warming which has no place in this book (imo). While it was accurate about what happened to native peoples, it included a brief mention African slavery in the narrative (which isn't appropriate in my opinion in a book about the age of exploration). It said the age of exploration should be called the age of invasion. Well, that's pretty simplistic. It didn't explain the motives and understandings of the time/culture to give a more balanced approach, etc. There also wasn't enough context to true understanding (imo). If you need a book that quickly goes over the explorers, it's OK. I'd be on hand to discuss and give more context and hopefully to read some more engaging books along with it to flesh things out better.

[Δάσκαλος · Rating 3 out of 5]

TIL

1. "Prince Henry went on to build a slavery trading post in Northern Africa, off the coast of what is now Mauritania. Slavery had almost always existed before this. But now it became a booming business." (p. 24)
2. "On their way back, Dias and his crew saw the most southwestern point of Africa. He named it the Cape of Storms. (King John II later changed the name to the Cape of Good Hope.)" (p. 27)
3. "They even burned a ship full of Muslims returning from a pilgrimage (a religious journey) to Mecca. ... Portugal was at war with the Muslim traders for several years." (p. 49)
4. "Meanwhile, in Tenochtitlán, Pedro de Alvarado decided to murder thousands of Aztecs. They were gathered for an important feast day and made easy targets for the Spaniards." (p. 62)
5. "The Aztec empire was renamed New Spain, and in 1522, Cortés became the governor." (p. 63)
6. "Pizarro took over the Inca empire, moving the capital to the coast of the Pacific and calling it Lima." (p. 66)

[Liam Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this book is intended for a person 50+ years younger than me. I learned a lot about an era only studied back in the mid 70s. The main reasons I selected this book were it was published recently so I thought it would be full of debunking history I was told, and it was, and I was fine with it pointing out all the diseases Europeans brought to the New World. It was short and well written. It focused on the main Explorers and their benefactors.

This is not my favorite era, so a book for a younger audience did me well.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many familiar names inhabit this book but many tales of daring, death and destruction accompany them. So much ruthless killing was done in the name of exploration and so many of the explorers died trying to find and settle new lands. So much of it is sad and shames those felt they had the “right” to take land and exploit people.

[Tracy Peralta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some parts were interesting but drop the one-sided woke propaganda. On the one hand you say the native peoples practiced cannibalism, human sacrifice, and slavery of their own, but then you say, poor native peoples who were mistreated by these explorers, many of whom were trying to convert them to Christianity. History is complicated. Let’s stop the victim and victimizer storyline.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book for beginning to learn about world history and exploration. I was surprised to learn that Queen Isabella did not want any captives treated as slaves. She felt that they were subjects of her kingdom. This bit of information never surfaced in any of the world history classes I took during my schooling. It is good to know that facts are not always hidden in history books.

[Erin Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent modern explanation of the age of exploration. Deals head-on with the many negative impacts of European exploration on the Americas. Engaging illustrations and photographs.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done run down of exploration!

[Erick Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

The drawings about indigenous empires/peoples seem so different from other sources... Excellent book just that opinion

[Kate Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great basic introduction that does not sugarcoat the damage the explorers inflicted upon the civilizations they encountered on their explorations.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very good informative book and I learned new fun facts while reviewing facts at the same time.

[RileyG7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine

[Erin333 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in social studies class and I loved learning about the explorers.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with my 9 year old. Was nice to see a truthful telling of what all had happened during the Age of Exploration….the good, the bad and the ugly.

[Dinah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t keep your political views out huh?

[Greygirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

~5 stars~ read with my dad

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Right up front - I don't particularly enjoy the What Was...? series. This book is required reading for rising 4th grade students that I am tutoring. I have read it multiple times, and find it to be difficult for about half of the readers to decode, and it requires much explanation for nearly all of them to comprehend. It would probably be more manageable for them about 18 months from now, in mid-5th grade (U.S. grades).

The book narrates many dates and facts about European explorers who navigated the world in the 15th through 17th centuries. To its credit, the book does make clear that these navigators may have been preceded by others, including the Vikings, and, more importantly, makes it clear that the explorers were landing in locations that were already occupied by humans.

The book is unattractive to me, and the maps, important in a book of this topic, would be better if in color and/or better labeled. However, the students accept it as it is. They generally like the Who is...? series as well as the What Was...? books.