The Portuguese Voyages of Discovery

Helen Wallis charts the Portugal's astonishing success in voyages of exploration between 1415 and 1520

Alberto Cantino's world map (1502)In 1655, Sir Richard Fanshaw introduced the English public to Luis de Camoes’ epic of Portuguese maritime literature, The Lusiads, originally published in 1572. Conveyed in Fanshaw’s 'sprightly, gallant style' (as Sir Richard Burton described it), Camoes conjured up the vision of Portugal's search for empire:

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