Beginning with Prince Henry the Navigator's worldly vision of finding a direct sea route to India and ending with Ferdinand Magellan's quest to be the first man to sail round the world, this is the story of the numerous explorers who sought to find a path to the exotic treasures of the Far East.

Beginning with Prince Henry the Navigator's worldly vision of finding a direct sea route to India and concluding with Ferdinand Magellan's quest to be the first man to sail around the world, this work tells the collective story of the numerous explorers who sought to find a path to the exotic spices and other treasures of the Far East. Most of the explorers included were of the same generation and several of them even sailed together. The book also examines the political, social and economic factors that ushered in the age of exploration and had such an impact upon the explorers.