Curious People: A History of Exploration

The Old Library at St John's College has many books, maps and letters that tell the story of how Europeans explored the rest of the world. These webpages will show you some of the highlights through the exploits of these travellers and their exotic destinations.

Explore the site using the links below to pages about people, places, or wider topics.

Copyright in the images used in this resource belongs to the Master and Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge. If you wish to reproduce them in any way please contact the Library for permission.

People

Vitus Bering; Christopher Columbus; James Cook; Bartolomeu Dias; Francis Drake; Martin Frobisher; Vasco da Gama; David Livingstone; Ferdinand Magellan; Gerard Mercator; Sebastian Münster; Marco Polo; Ptolemy; James Clark Ross; John Speke; Henry Stanley; Abel Tasman; Amerigo Vespucci

Places

Africa; Antartica; Northeast Passage; Northwest Passage; Unknown Southern Continent

Topics

Mappae Mundi; Medieval Geography; Münster's Cosmographia; Portuguese Discoveries; Scramble for Africa; Riches of Asia

Dutch ship from 'A history of the affairs and the town of Amsterdam', published in 1611Find out moreDutch ship from 'A history of the affairs and the town of Amsterdam', published in 1611FeedbackDutch ship from 'A history of the affairs and the town of Amsterdam', published in 1611Bibliography