Toward the Setting Sun: Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, and the Race for America - Hardcover

Boyle, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802716512 ISBN 13: 9780802716514

Publisher: Walker & Company, 2008

Synopsis

The untold story of the rivalries and alliances between Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and John Cabot during the Age of Exploration.

When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the long-established trade routes to the East became treacherous and expensive, forcing merchants of all sorts to find new ways of obtaining and trading their goods. Enterprising young men took to the sea in search of new lands, new routes, new markets, and of course the possibility of glory and vast fortunes. Offering an original vision of the race to discover America, David Boyle reveals that the race was, in fact, as much about commerce and trade as it was about discovery and conquest.

Contrary to popular belief, Cabot, Columbus, and Vespucci not only knew of each other, they were well acquaintedColumbus and Vespucci at various times worked closely together; Cabot and Columbus were born in Genoa about the same time and had common friends who were interested in Western trade possibilities. They collaborated, knew of each others ambitions, and followed each others progress. As each attempted to curry favor with various monarchs across Europe, they used news of the others successes and failures to further their claims and to garner support from investors. The intrigue, espionage, and treachery that abounded in the courts of Europe provide a compelling backdrop for the intersection of dreams and business ventures that led the way to our modern world.

About this title

About the Author:

David Boyle is the author of The Troubadour's Song, The Tyranny of Numbers, and The Money Changers. He lives with his family in London.

From Booklist:

The outward expansion of Europe that was launched by the voyages of da Gama and Columbus changed human history irrevocably by linking the destinies of Europe, Africa, and Asia with the Americas. The so-called Age of Discovery would create great winners, losers, unprecedented economic growth, and immense suffering, and it continues to captivate writers today. Boyle is a British author and journalist who has previously written extensively on global economics. Here, Boyle strives to illuminate and explain this epoch by linking the lives and exploits of these men. Boyle resists the urge to portray them as romantic plungers into the unknown. He convincingly illustrates that their voyages were essentially spurred by commercial motives; in particular, they were designed to bypass the infernal Turks who controlled the land route, and thus the flow of spices, from Asia. That is hardly an original view. What is unusual and provocative is Boyle’s assertion that these three men were well acquainted with each other and actually collaborated. An interesting, if debatable, perspective on these men and their vibrant age. --Jay Freeman

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker & Company
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0802716512
• ISBN 13: 9780802716514
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432