Swashbuckling pirates raiding treasure galleons and dashing explorers traversing the unknown; this is how many perceive the Age of Exploration. The quest to explore beyond the horizon was driven by more than a need to understand the unknown. Great political and financial prospects lured those individuals and nations who dared explore. This compelling volume offers readers an in-depth account of the eccentric characters, cutting-edge technologies, and the exotic locations, real and imagined, that drove exploration of the New World as well as the Old World. Chapters engage pertinent critical discussions including early exploration of trade routes through the Muslim world; Bartolomeu Dias sailing around the southern cape of Africa; Christopher Columbus reaching the Bahamas Islands, Cuba and Hispaniola; Vasco da Gama rounding Africa and reaches the Indian port of Calicut; and many more. The edition also offers readers a timeline, maps, quotations from primary source materials, and a thorough subject index.