Introduction The early navigators: The Phoenicians circumnavigate Africa and the Polynesians migrate across the Pacific, c 50,000BC - 1150AD Saint Brendan's miraculous voyage: An Irish monk crosses the Atlantic in a tiny leather boat, c 530AD The Icelandic sagas of Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson: Norsemen land on the American continent centuries before Columbus, 982-1000AD Madoc ab Owen Gwynedd's voyage across the Atlantic: A Welsh prince lays his claim to America, c 1170 The epic journeys of the Ming Dynasty: Four great Chinese armadas navigate the world's oceans, 1415-1421 Henry the Navigator's colonization of Atlantic islands: Portuguese captains cross the equator and map the coast of Africa, 1394-1460 The journeys of Bartholomew Dias and Vasco da Gama: Two great Portuguese navigators travel east and discover the vital sea route to India, 1487-1497 America is discovered by Christopher Columbus: In his quest for the Indies, the famous explorer reaches the New World, 1492 John Cabot's search for the North West Passage: A Venetian sails from Bristol to Newfoundland on board the Matthew, 1496-1499 Ferdinand Magellan and the first circumnavigation of the world: The explorer sails around the southern tip of America, 1519-1522 The French claim to Canada is secured by Jacques Cartier: The first European to navigate the St Lawrence river, 1534-1541 Spanish treasure ships scour the Pacific: The Conquistadors exploit the riches of the New World, 1519-1600 Francis Drake and the voyage of the Golden Hind: The first Englishman to sail around the globe, 1577-1580 The quest for a route to the Orient: Explorers perish in their search for the North East and North West Passages, 1533-1631 The historic voyage of the Mayflower: The Pilgrim Fathers establish North America's first successful colony, 1620 Abel Tasman discovers Tasmania: The Dutch exploration of the South Pacific, 1642-1643 The original Robinson Crusoe and the buccaneers of England: The exploits of William Dampier, Woodes Rogers and Alexander Selkirk, 1680-1709 Roggeveen discovers Easter Island and Anson's fleet strikes gold: The search for new islands in the great south seas, 1721-1769 Louis-Antoine de Bougainville explores the Pacific's flora and fauna: The Frenchman enjoys an idyll on Tahiti and encounters the Great Barrier Reef, 1766-1769 Captain Cook's epic voyage on board the Endeavour: The charting of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia, 1768-1771 The transatlantic voyages of greed and despair: The slave trade and its abolition John Harrison and the search for Longitude: The dedicated watchmaker wins the GBP20,000 prize, 1741-1773 The First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay: The creation of a penal colony in Australia, 1788 Charles Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle: The expedition that led to the Theory of Evolution, 1831 Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the race across the Atlantic: The first great steamships compete to reach New York Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton travel to the ends of the Earth: the expeditions of the legendary polar explorers, 1840-1916 Voyages under the sea: Advances in submarine warfare and scientific discovery, 1776-1960s Index Acknowledgements
