Atlantic Seafaring - Ten Centuries of Exploration and Trade in the North Atlantic (Hardcover)

A thousand years ago, Norse seafarers were voyaging from Norway to Greenland and even Newfoundland, and over the following centuries the European search for a trade route to the Orient changed the face of the known world through the discovery and exploration of North America's eastern seaboard. For at least a millennium the Atlantic has challenged explorers, traders, whalers, pirates, settlers, privateers and fishermen. Atlantic Sail: Ten Centuries of Exploration and Trade in the North Atlantic is a fascinating look at the ships and seafarers who discovered and settled new lands, pioneered lucrative trade routes, and exploited the riches of the New World. The sailing ships that braved the Atlantic are well represented here, showing the evolution of ship design and function from the tiny, crafted knorrs of the Norse seafarers to the Cape Verde packets that kept alive the tradition of commercial sailing ships in the Atlantic well into this century. In between we explore, among others, the ships of Columbus, Hudson, Champlain and the first New World colonists, the Spanish galleons, the vessels of the Grand Banks fishing fleets, and the magnificent packet clippers of the mid nineteenth century. Roger Morris is a maritime artist of international repute, as well as a professional seaman of broad experience. The combination of his beautiful, detailed paintings and carefully researched text has produced a lively and fascinating book, an invaluable addition to maritime literature.