Extraordinary Expeditions : The People and Journeys That Changed History.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Della Guardia, Anne, author.

Contributor:

Bloomsbury (Firm), publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Adventure and adventurers--History.

Adventure and adventurers.

Voyages and travels--History.

Voyages and travels.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (361 pages)

Edition:

1st edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2025.

Summary:

From ancient sea voyages to modern-day explorations of deep space, discover the expeditions that have shaped our world and the individuals who undertook them.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Series Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

CONTENTS

Geographical List of Expeditions

North America and the Caribbean

South America

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Polar Regions

Sea and Space

Around the World

Acknowledgments

Author's Note

The Value of Reference Books

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1: Xuánzàng Journeys to India and Spreads Buddhism in China (629-43)

The Expedition

Early Life

The Long Road to India

Seeking Enlightenment in India

Return to China

Legacies and Impacts

Religious and Cultural Influence

Diplomatic Relations and Cross-Cultural Exchange

Historical and Cultural Legacy

Conclusion

Chapter 2: Al-Masʿūdī's Travels Revolutionize the Social Sciences (c. 915-57)

The Call of the Unknown

Al-Masʿūdī's Travels

Methodological Innovations

Contributions to Fields of Knowledge

The Meadows of Gold and "The Herodotus of the Arabs"

Chapter 3: Norse Seafarers Traverse the Atlantic to North America 500 Years Before Columbus (c. 970-1025)

Early Atlantic Exploration

The Norse in Vinland

Viking Women at L'Anse aux Meadows

Shifting the Transatlantic Narrative and Cultural Legacy

First Nations and Viking Encounters in "Vinland"

Historical and Archaeological Scholarship

Chapter 4: Marco Polo Follows the Silk Road and Explores the Mongol Empire For Kublai Khan (1271-95)

Origins of the Travels

Marco Polo Journeys East

"Travels" Shapes European Perceptions of Asia

Geography, Exploration, and Trade

Chapter 5: Mansa Musa's Pilgrimage to Mecca Spreads Islam and Highlights West African Wealth (1324-5).

The Expedition

Early Life and the Call to Mecca

Pilgrimage to Mecca (1324-5)

Return to Niani

Islam in Africa

Socio-political and Trade Repercussions

The Slave Trades

Chapter 6: Columbus Encounters the Americas, Ushering in the Columbian Exchange (1492-3)

Columbus' Early Life

Origins of the First Voyage

The Search for Patronage

The First Voyage Sets Out (1492-3)

First Encounters in the Caribbean

Obsessions and Misfortunes

The Return to Spain

European Colonization and Indigenous Devastation

The Columbian Exchange

Socio-cultural Legacy

Chapter 7: Indigenous American People Brave a New World in Europe (1493-Early 1700s)

Ordinary Indigenous People's Experiences

Indigenous Elites Discover Europe

Summary

Indigenous Discoveries

Indigenous American Perspectives

European Impressions

Chapter 8: The Magellan-Elcano Expedition Circumnavigates the Earth (1519-22)

Early Life and the Search for Patronage

Rough Seas Ahead

Mutiny and Executions at San Julián

Into the Sea of the South

Fiasco in the Philippines

Full Circle

Geographic and Scientific Impact

Geopolitical and Trade Relations

Cultural Legacy and Further Circumnavigations

Chapter 9: Jacques Cartier Searches for the Northwest Passage in Canada (1534-6)

The First Voyage (1534)

Return to Kanata (1535-6)

Later Life

Further Exploration and Early Colonization

Political and Economic Impacts

Cultural Impacts

Geographic Impacts

Chapter 10: Vitus Bering Leads Russia's Great Northern Expedition to Alaska (1733-43).

Vitus Bering and the First Kamchatka Expedition

Preparations for the Second Kamchatka Expedition

Bering's Delegation (1733-42)

The Kamchatka-Alaska Crossing (1741-2)

Bering and the St. Peter Crew

Geographical Discoveries and Scientific Contributions

Economic Impact

Imperial Expansion and Colonization

Chapter 11: Tupaia and Captain Cook Chart New Zealand and Eastern Australia Aboard the Endeavour (1768-71)

Captain Cook's Early Life

The Endeavour: From Atlantic to Pacific

Tupaia and the Endeavour in Polynesia

The Endeavour in Aotearoa (New Zealand)

The Endeavour in Australia

Return to England

Colonization of Australia

Colonization of Aotearoa (New Zealand)

The Scurvy Debacle

Contributions to Science

Chapter 12: Bungaree Guides Flinders' Investigator Expedition and Circumnavigates Australia (1802-3)

Bungaree Before the Investigator

Preparations, Recruitment and the Investigator

King George Sound to Port Jackson

Circumnavigation

Bungaree Aboard the Investigator

After the Investigator

Colonial Development and the Use of Aboriginal Guides

Bungaree: Recognition and Oversight

Cartographic and Scientific Achievements

Australian Identity

Chapter 13: The Lewis and Clark Expedition Searches for a Water Route Through the Louisiana Purchase (1804-6)

Recruitment and Preparations

Westward Bound: May 1804-October 1805

Sacagawea

To the Pacific

Home Again

A Nation-Building Narrative

Settler Colonialism and Indigenous Displacement

Cultural Legacy and Memorialization

Conclusion.

Chapter 14: Charles Darwin Collects Data for the Theory of Evolution Aboard the Beagle (1831-6)

Darwin's Early Life

Cambridge and the Call of the Beagle

The Atlantic Crossing

South America at Last

The Three Fuegians

The Galápagos Islands

Circumnavigation and Return to England

Theory of Evolution and Impact on Different Fields

The Lesser-Known Founder of Evolution

Controversies and Misapplications

Socio-cultural Influence

Chapter 15: Mary Seacole Responds to Epidemics and Wounded Soldiers from the Caribbean to Crimea (1850-6)

Foundational Entrepreneurship and Epidemic Response

"Mother Seacole" in Crimea

Commemoration

Changing Attitudes and Racial Discrimination

Humanitarianism, Nursing, and Medicine

Chapter 16: Sidi Bombay Guides Burton and Speke's Expeditions to Find the Source of the Nile River (1857-63)

Burton's Nile Expedition (1857-9)

Speke's Nile Expedition (1860-3)

"The Nile Is Settled"

Awards, Honors, and Further Exploration

Sociopolitical Impacts and Legacies

Cultural Legacy

Chapter 17: Nellie Bly Circumnavigates the World in Seventy-Two Days (1889)

Entry into Journalism

"No One But a Man Can Do This"

A Mad Dash of Preparations

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days

Later Career and Life

Immediate Reception and Accolades

Impact on Journalism

Influence on Gender Norms and Perceptions

Social Change and Public Goods

Chapter 18: Harriet Chalmers Adams Travels Over 100,000 Miles in Latin America (1904-20)

Early Life.

An Unconventional Partnership

Forty Thousand Miles of South America

Every Former Spanish Colony

A Society for Women Geographers

Final Years

Breaking Barriers

Shifting Conceptions of Exploration

Research Impact

Criticisms

Chapter 19: Four Inuit, Matthew Henson, and Robert Peary (Almost) Reach the North Pole (1908-9)

Robert Peary's Arctic Ambitions

Henson: Jack-of-all-Trades and Arctic Extraordinaire

Northward, Ho!

The Race Is On

The Journey Back

Great Fanfare and Controversy

"A Sportsman's Stunt"

Science, Geopolitics, and Resource Exploitation

Social and Cultural Impact

Chapter 20: Amundsen and Scott Race to South Pole (1910-12)

Britain's National Obsession

Amundsen Enters the Race

The Race Is On!

Fatal Failures

Finding the Scott Party

Legacy and Impact

Scientific Legacies and Impacts

Legacy of Lessons in Leadership

Further Exploration and Milestones

Commemoration and Value of "Firsts"

Chapter 21: The Kon-Tiki Raft Crosses the Pacific from Peru to French Polynesia (1947)

Early Life of Thor Heyerdahl

Kon-Tiki Origins

The Kon-Tiki Team

The Kon-Tiki Sets Sail

The Polynesian Puzzle

Further Exploration

Chapter 22: Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary to Summit Earth's Highest Peak (1953)

1953 Expedition

"Assaults" on the Summit

At the Top of the World

Reception and Aftermath

Awards and Accolades

Mass Mountaineering

Firsts and Records

Scientific and Cultural Legacy

Chapter 23: The Trieste Submersible Decends into the Challenger Deep, the Deepest Known Valley on Earth (1960).

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9798765112656

9798765112632

9798765112649

OCLC:

1564375823