What did John Cabot and Christopher Columbus truly achieve - and what did they inherit? In this compelling reassessment, Lydia Towns characterizes their voyages not as radical departures, but as chapters in a much older story of Atlantic navigation and commerce. Beginning with Celtic and Viking seafarers, she outlines the long prelude to the so-called Age of Exploration, showing how knowledge, ambition and trade routes shaped the journeys of Cabot and Columbus. Drawing on recent scholarship, In Search of Trade and Fortune reframes these figures within the systems they extended, not invented. It follows their legacy into the modern age, explaining how national myths, public memory and political uses of history continue to shape our understanding of early exploration. Discovery, this book suggests, was never a solitary act.
| ISBN: | 9781836391821 |
| Publication date: | 13th July 2026 |
| Author: | Lydia Towns |
| Publisher: | Reaktion Books |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 416 pages |
| Genres: |
History History and Archaeology Geographical discovery and exploration |
What did John Cabot and Christopher Columbus truly achieve - and what did they inherit? In this compelling reassessment, Lydia Towns characterizes their voyages not as radical departures, but as chapters in a much older story of Atlantic navigation and commerce. Beginning with Celtic and Viking seafarers, she outlines the long prelude to the so-called Age of Exploration, showing how knowledge, ambition and trade routes shaped the journeys of Cabot and Columbus. Drawing on recent scholarship, In Search of Trade and Fortune reframes these figures within the systems they extended, not invented. It follows their legacy into the modern age, explaining how national myths, public memory and political uses of history continue to shape our understanding of early exploration. Discovery, this book suggests, was never a solitary act.
In Search of Trade and Fortune features in the following genres: History, History and Archaeology, Geographical discovery and exploration
In Search of Trade and Fortune is available in Hardback
In Search of Trade and Fortune was written by Lydia Towns and published by Reaktion Books
In Search of Trade and Fortune has 416 pages
£22.50