The work surveys late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century maritime exploration and commerce, concentrating on Portuguese voyages around Africa to India with close descriptions of ship types, outfitting, navigation, Vasco de Gama’s expeditions, his diplomatic dealings and violent reprisals, and the foundation of trading posts and fortifications on East African and Indian coasts. It also traces the wider progress of discovery, English royal encouragement of overseas trade under Henry VII, and the voyages and careers of the Cabots in seeking western routes. Additional sections review Spanish transoceanic ventures, encounters with indigenous seafarers, and the commercial and naval practices that shaped early modern oceanic trade.