Vasco da Gama: Quest for the Spice Trade.

John Abbott is a professor of history at Laurentian University’s Algoma University College. He is the co-author of The Border at Sault Ste Marie and The History of Fort St. Joseph.

Many popular nineteenth century writers of children's literature (G.A. Henty is a good example) relied solely on the power of words to stir the imagination and evoke the milieu of famous people whose deeds made a difference in the world.  These six richly illustrated, magazine-size volumes superimpose more carefully modulated accounts of the explorers’ lives and times upon vivid pictorial backgrounds. Life and times are equally important; the biographical information is always complemented by historical context and background.

The books are organized according to an editorial formula for effective learning. The explorers are introduced on a page with their timelines in the right-hand margins. The next few pages often include vignettes and pictures that seek to establish temporal contexts. Then there are accounts of the expeditions, terrestrial or maritime, with descriptions of a sailor’s life at sea, or the fauna encountered, and references to the impact that the explorers’ activities had on indigenous peoples. Finally, the explorers’ legacies are presented.

Each book contains short extracts from primary materials. These range from Alvise da Cadamosto’s encounter with Native warriors on the Gambia River in the mid-16th century (Henry the Navigator) to Jacques Cousteau’s account of his subterranean revelation in the 1930s. They are tempted to prepare foods employing ingredients in common use at various times: couscous (Henry), millet (Vasco da Gama), squash soup (Jacques Cartier), corn soup (Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac), and grilled seafood shish kebobs (Jacques Cousteau). One gasps at the cup of lard required by bannock (Marquette and Jolliet). There is a wealth of information about life at sea: afflictions such as scurvy, the technology of navigation, and the kinds of ships employed, from the naus used by da Gama to Cousteau’s ex-minesweeper, Calypso.

Students just beginning to realize the importance of commerce in modern life will have their understanding enhanced by concise but revealing examinations of the trade in spices and furs. They will also begin to realize the far-reaching and complex changes in all aspects of life generated by novel or highly developed technologies, businesses, and economies.  The controversy over the role played by Henry the Navigator in the European Reconnaissance introduces students to the sophisticated field of historiography.

The authors respect their young readers. They do not “write down” to children; their language is that of intelligent adults addressing promising learners. Terms are explained in a glossary at the back. The authors present enough detail to awaken curiosity, but not so much as to impede the story.  Illustrations are relevant to the text, well-drawn in full colour, and carefully sited on the page. All of these books are highly recommended.