Exploration: Did you mean...?

One of the major motivating factors in the European Age of Exploration was the search for direct access to the highly lucrative Eastern spice trade. In the 15th century, spices came to Europe via the Middle East land and sea routes, and spices...

The French exploration of New Zealand has been overshadowed by the achievements of British navigator Captain James Cook (1728-1779), but French navigators who visited Aotearoa's (New Zealand) shores named over 100 geographical places and...

The Portuguese built an empire from 1420 onwards that was largely composed of trade centres dotted around the coasts of three continents. This colonial enterprise was driven by a search for African gold, Asian spices, and Christian kingdoms...

Ancient peoples were as curious as ourselves about the wider world and even if the transport at their disposal meant travel could be long, arduous and dangerous, they still managed to get about and visit different cities, sacred sites and...

Arctic exploration represents one of humanity’s most formidable quests for discovery, driven by scientific curiosity, commercial ambition, and geopolitical competition. From the early voyages of Henry Hudson (1609–1610) to the great naval...

This map illustrates the exploration of the continent of Antarctica from the first voyages of the 18th century to the research stations of the 21st century. The map also shows the varied and competing national claims to slices of the Great...

A map illustrating the patterns and routes of westward exploration and settlement in the United States after the “Louisiana Purchase” from France in 1803. As Napoleonic dreams of a great North American Empire gave way to French hegemonic...

The Age of Exploration (15th–16th centuries) was propelled by a revolution in shipbuilding and navigation that transformed the limits of human travel. Innovations such as the caravel and carrack, the adoption of the magnetic compass, astrolabe...

This map illustrates the sweep of Viking exploration between the late 8th and early 11th centuries, charting longship routes from Scandinavia to the British Isles, Normandy, Iberia, Russia, the Mediterranean, and across the North Atlantic...

This map illustrates Spain’s rapid push into South America after securing the major Caribbean islands by 1512. Driven by the lure of gold and territorial ambition, Spanish expeditions swept across the continent, laying the groundwork for...