The Asia-Pacific at the JCBLMain MenuThe Asia-Pacific on the Shelves of the John Carter Brown LibraryBibliography of texts, maps, and manuscriptsSixteenth Century EncountersThe Seventeenth CenturyAn age of rogues and adventurers on the high seas.The Eighteenth CenturyAn age of enlightenment and empireThe Nineteenth CenturyModernity and Mature CapitalismVoyage and ExplorationThe Asia-Pacific in MapsDevelopments in cartography and seagoing exploration intertwined to form the sinews of early modern global connectedness.The Jesuits in East AsiaBooks by Spanish AuthorsBooks in English by British AuthorsDescriptions of ChinaJapanTexts printed in or describing JapanCaroline Franka1a5e7e9a2c3dba76ecb2896a93bf66ac8d1635e
The Fifteenth Century
1media/Cosmographical Glasse1559.jpgmedia/PtolemyWorldColor1482.jpg2016-01-22T14:53:45-08:00Caroline Franka1a5e7e9a2c3dba76ecb2896a93bf66ac8d1635e53986The Age of Columbus and Vasco de Gamaimage_header2016-01-26T12:35:11-08:00Caroline Franka1a5e7e9a2c3dba76ecb2896a93bf66ac8d1635eThe John Carter Brown Library collection not only takes us to the earliest days of European book publishing but also directly into the earliest days of European knowledge about the Asia-Pacific in print. Much of what was printed about eastern Asia and its distant ocean in the 15th century was based on much earlier accounts, including ancient texts such as Homer or Herodotus. Columbus and a number of his contemporary explores were inspired by Marco Polo’s accounts of two centuries earlier. But by the late 16th century accounts such as Marco Polo’s were beginning to fade in the face of new first-hand information.