The Great Explorers: The European Discovery of America

The European Discovery of America

by Samuel Eliot Morison

This is an abridgement of Samuel Morison's magnum opus, The European Discovery of America, in which he describes the early voyages that led to the discovery of the New World. All the acclaimed Morison touches are here - the meticulous research and authoritative scholarship, along with the personal and compelling narrative style that gives the reader the feeling of having been there. Morison, of course, has been there, and The Great Explorers is enriched with photographs and maps he made while personally retracing the great voyages.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography, American History, European History, World History

752 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Samuel Eliot Morison, son of John H. and Emily Marshall (Eliot) Morison, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on 9 July 1887. He attended Noble’s School at Boston, and St. Paul’s at Concord, New Hampshire, before entering Harvard University, from which he was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1908. He studied at the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques, Paris, France, in 1908-1909, and returned to Harvard for postgraduate work, receiving the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1912. Thereafter he became Instructor, first at the University of California in Berkeley, and in 1915 at Harvard. Except for three years (1922-1925) when he was Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford, England, and his periods of active duty during both World Wars, he remained continuously at Harvard University as lecturer and professor until his retirement in 1955.

He had World War I service as a private in the US Army, but not overseas. As he had done some preliminary studies on Finland for Colonel House’s Inquiry, he was detailed from the Army in January 1919 and attached to the Russian Division of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace, at Paris, his specialty being Finland and the Baltic States. He served as the American Delegate on the Baltic Commission of the Peace Conference until 17 June 1919, and shortly after returned to the United States. He became a full Professor at Harvard in 1925, and was appointed to the Jonathan Trumbull Chair in 1940. He also taught American History at Johns Hopkins University in 1941-1942.

Living up to his sea-going background – he has sailed in small boats and coastal craft all his life. In 1939-1940, he organized and commanded the Harvard Columbus Expedition which retraced the voyages of Columbus in sailing ships, barkentine Capitana and ketch Mary Otis. After crossing the Atlantic under sail to Spain and back, and examining all the shores visited by Columbus in the Caribbean, he wrote Admiral of the Ocean Sea, an outstanding biography of Columbus, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1943. He also wrote a shorter biography, Christopher Columbus, Mariner. With Maurico Obregon of Bogota, he surveyed and photographed the shores of the Caribbean by air and published an illustrated book The Caribbean as Columbus Saw It (1964).

Shortly after the United States entered World War II, Dr. Morison proposed to his friend President Roosevelt, to write the operational history of the US Navy from the inside, by taking part in operations and writing them up afterwards. The idea appealed to the President and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and on 5 May 1942, Dr. Morison was commissioned Lieutenant Commander, US Naval Reserve, and was called at once to active duty. He subsequently advanced to the rank of Captain on 15 December 1945. His transfer to the Honorary Retired List of the Naval Reserve became effective on 1 August 1951, when he was promoted to Rear Admiral on the basis of combat awards.

In July-August 1942 he sailed with Commander Destroyer Squadron Thirteen (Captain John B. Heffernan, USN), on USS Buck, flagship, on convoy duty in the Atlantic. In October of that year, on USS Brooklyn with Captain Francis D. Denebrink, he participated in Operation TORCH (Allied landings in North and Northwestern Africa - 8 November 1942). In March 1943, while attached to Pacific Fleet Forces, he visited Noumea, Guadalcanal, Australia, and on Washington made a cruise with Vice Admiral W. A. Lee, Jr., USN. He also patrolled around Papua in motor torpedo boats, made three trips up “the Slot” on Honolulu, flagship of Commander Cruisers, Pacific Fleet (Rear Admiral W.W. Ainsworth, USN), and took part in the Battle of Kolombangara before returning to the mainland. Again in the Pacific War Area in September 1943, he participated in the Gilbert Islands operation on board USS Baltimore, under command of Captain Walter C. Calhoun, USN. For the remainder of the Winter he worked at Pearl Harbor, and in the Spring

Reviews

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exhaustive history of Europe’s discovery of the New World, focused on the maritime expeditions.

The narrative is detailed, informative and well-written. The narrative is readable despite the huge amount of detail presented. He does provide a great picture of the different voyages and how they worked, and the stories read and transition smoothly.

The book is an abridgment of two volumes, so the chronology may seem a little odd (Columbus’s story begins about 200 pages in). The writing can get a little breezy and conversational (Morison sometimes writes in first person), and some points could have been elaborated on. Some more maps may have helped, although they are all clear. Also, there aren’t any citations.

A solid introduction to the topic.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book on the trials and tribulations of those who dared to strike out in search of the unknown.
A different breed of man.

[Johnny G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As you can see, I would prefer to read fiction over nonfiction. I started this book about 10 months ago, and let it sit for a while, and then said, why not finish it before the end of the year? I learned a whole lot about the European explorers. I also learned that the author who wrote it, Samuel Eliot Morison was very knowledgeable (he sailed and flew to places the explorers wrote that they had been), but the book was written in the 1970s, and is very dated. This book filled in a lot of gaps in my historical knowledge of the time from Columbus through the 1700s. I wish there was a little bit more about Sir Francis Drake; the book ends pretty abruptly after 721 pages.

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

After finishing Champlain late 77/early 78 I went for this one. I'd probably appreciate it more now after the years as a navigator and dealing with the weather out over the oceans. Still, hard not to appreciate the temerity of the captains and the crews on these voyages. We tend to focus on the ones that were successful and not think about the ships that didn't come back. And, up until Spain gets the gold from the Aztecs and Incas - these are really sideshows compared to the India trade of the Portuguese. Or the ongoing struggle against the Ottomans in the Eastern Mediterranean.

[Kevin J Glynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and entertaining non-fiction book detailing the various fetes of European Explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries who plied the unknown seas of the Western Hemisphere during the Age of Sail and the Age of Exploration.

[Mark Stirrat · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a masterful telling of the expeditions of the explorers, as opposed to the explorers themselves. The author is a true professional and master of his subject matter.

[Michael Loveless · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Great Explorers was not my kind of history book. It was published almost 50 years ago and reflects an older approach to history. Samuel Eliot Morison indicates his bias in the title, The Great Explorers. Although he does acknowledge their mistakes and flaws, this book is a heroic story of brave men and their amazing feats of exploration. There is truth in that characterization of course. These men did what others did not due for lack of courage, imagination, or skill. They were all male Europeans, and Morison can't be blamed for that. The book reflects their mindset though. The people discovered are described from the point of view of the explorers. They are merely extras in the story of these great men. The implications of the discoveries are only mentioned in passing. Morison (as I recall) spent more time talking about the effects of syphilis than about the effects of smallpox.

There was a second characteristic of the book that I found far more frustrating. Morison fills the book with minutiae of the voyages that would not be interesting to most readers. He frequently goes into great detail about longitude and latitude, sailing techniques used, the names given to places by the explorers and their current names, Latin phrases that the explorers used (sometimes without translation, etc. Geographers and people who sail yachts would probably find many of these details interesting, but the average reader would not. A historian intent on researching the details of these voyages would find The Great Explorers a helpful starting point, but most readers are likely to be indifferent at best about all the detail. In my opinion, one of the greatest services performed by historians is to sift through the minute details of history, discover patterns, and then explain to readers the significance of the details. Morison, however, serves up all the detail and lets the reader do the work - or not.

In summary, The Great Explorers is not a book for everyone. There is interesting material in it, but most people won't find the info worth the work it takes to get it.

[Heather Turiello · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair, I have not finished the complete book. I struggled because this history was written 50 years ago and does not portray these explorers in light of today’s viewpoints. There is a good deal of information on the type of sails and rigging on the boats and the book jumps around between the explorers. I paused the reading of this to pick up books that focused on Columbus and Drake as well as the Viking explorers and Europe at that time period and plan to go back and re-read this one with better context. It’s just pretty dry and tends to idolize these men who were not really better than well financed rapists and thieves. I want to hear about their bravery and successes but also want honesty about their poor decisions. For example, we know that Columbus was a fantastic sailor but horrible leader/governor/settler. This book doesn’t get into those nuances. The book includes comments about the diaries of these explorers including complaints about the “Indian” women not being as desirable to rape because of their flat chests and butts, but there isn’t any judgement on that characterization. So it feels like hollow historical reporting.

I personally expect my history to have some depth and not be a simple timeline or ignore the obvious flaws. Just because these men were first doesn’t make them phenoms. It makes them first.

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book telling you everything you may wish to know about early European explorers to the Americas as they searched for shorter trade routes to Asia. I find the organization odd, grouping the English expeditions together, the Spanish, and so on, giving readers no sense of linear history and saving Spanish exploration until near the end, so Columbus comes later in the book. Then Morrison saves Drake for the very end. I do not doubt there are advantages to this approach and Morison certainly does a good job of supplying readers with context that will be fully told later, but I am not sure I am comfortable with the choice. Given that choice, however, the book can hardly be better written, compellingly narrated, or informative.

I must warn people off this "unabridged" Blackstone audio version. There are several places where Morison refers readers to a chart, map, or illustration that naturally cannot be included in an audio book. I'd be shocked if there were not footnotes that are also missing. While the book is well read by Frederick Davidson, you really should experience this book in print.

Because the audio book in published in two audio volumes, I share this review in both parts.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was full of interesting nuggets of information, but as much as I found it interesting, I know for a fact I couldn't have ploughed through the original, unabridged , work from which this was taken.

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a LOT of detail, but I now think I'm close to knowing as much as a 5th grader. I want to get the book for my personal library.

[Gerald Miller]

not read.need repairs,published in 1971

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would prefer more maps. The book also assumes an advanced knowledge of sailing. Can be a little annoying. Otherwise, very good.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relatively easy reading for subject matter. Very nautical and well illustrated.