While we are accustomed to associate the Age of Discovery with the New World and the Far East, the dawn of that age began with significantly less ambitious voyages down the coast of Africa. In this episode we go over the various voyages down the coast of Africa from antiquity through the dawn of the fifteenth century, culminating in Jean de Bethencourt’s invasion of the three Canarian islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and El Hierro.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download