Previously in this series: Introduction. Part 1.
This time period, like the first, is covered in many otherwise good books with objectionable language and/or illustrations. I will be using the History Odyssey curriculum for this as well, even though I will have to redact as I read. For explanations of abbreviations see the previous posts.
In four weeks, we will cover
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Seton, Chapter 3, "The Holy Land and Beyond," parts. This chapter describes the Crusades and their role in expanding Europeans’ horizons.
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SOTW, Chapter 28, "The Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal," section about Henry the Navigator
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SOTW, Chapter 31, "Exploring New Worlds"
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SOTW, Chapter 41, "Explorations in the North"
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SOTW, Chapter 33, "Spain, Portugal, and the New World" (lots of redacting here)
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Child’s History of the World, Chapter 62, "A Sailor Who Found A New World"
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CHOTW, Chapter 63, "Fortune Hunters"
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The Discovery of the Americas by Maestro
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Optional: Around the World in a Hundred Years: From Henry the Navigator to Magellan by Jean Fritz. This might be a decent, more-detailed supplement to Maestro’s book, if you want a more in depth look at the explorers covered, which includes first a brief mention of Vikings et al, then Henry, Diaz, Columbus, da Gama, Cabral, Cabot, Vespucci, Ponce de Leon, Balboa, Magellan. Like Fritz’s Columbus bio, again critical of European attitude, omits atrocities.
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Optional, if a biography of Columbus is desired: Where do you Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz. If you are going to do a Columbus biography, you could certainly do worse than this one. It is not an unalloyed tale of heroes and I think gives an impression of interculturation; it describes and disapproves of the conqueror’s attitude, but it omits serious atrocities.
It is worth noting that children’s author Jean Fritz has single-handedly made my job a heck of a lot easier. You will see her name pop up again and again in my bibliography.
Now, let’s talk about what I didn’t use.
I didn’t use Seton’s chapter 4 about Columbus. It was a far too heroic treatment of a man who actually enslaved people.
D’Aulaire’s Conquest of the Atlantic had some good points, particularly in the technical details and a discussion of the longitude problem, and like all the D’Aulaires’ books is well written, exciting, and lavishly illustrated. It might be used, if you’re willing to glue pages 24-25 together. The illustration on that spread is very objectionable to modern eyes.
I rejected a slew of Columbus biographies, including Alice Dalgliesh’s The Columbus Story and Enid Meadowcroft’s fictionalized Shipboy With Columbus. I rejected Rich’s The First Book of New World Explorers mainly because I preferred Maestro’s more sensitive treatment of the same subject matter.
Next up: "The Spanish, French, Dutch, and English Settlers."
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