Printing and movable type were known before Johannes Gutenberg. Both had developed in the Far East. Gutenberg was able to combine different technologies, and with his knowledge of metalworking, he devised a mechanical sys…
By the mid-16th century, the Spanish were in the Americas, and the Portuguese reached both China and Japan. By doing so, the Portuguese provided the final link to creating a truly globalized world. From their arrival on Ch…
Like any modern commodity, the spice trade of the 16th century was a complex system. The Portuguese were never able to achieve the desired monopoly on this trade. In this episode, I provide an overview of the spice trade a…
Afonso de Albuquerque was known as the "Lion of the Seas" and the "Caesar of the East." He was the architect of the Portuguese empire in India. As the second Viceroy of the Portuguese State of India, he asserted Portuguese…
In this episode, I look at the early efforts of the Portuguese to intrude upon the spice trade in the Indian Ocean. Within six months of Vasco da Gama's return, King Manuel I had outfitted and armed a larger flotilla. It w…
On July 8, 1497, Vasco da Gama departed Lisbon, Portugal. In May 1498 he had reached India. In doing so, he and his crew became the first Europeans to see India after sailing directly from a European port. In this episode…
Starting in 1405, the Ming Emperor Yongle dispatched Zheng He to lead a series of voyages throughout the Indian Ocean basin. These fleets were to be a show of Chinese power as well as demand tribute from the many foreign st…
The Indian Ocean had been the scene of robust international trade for centuries prior to the Portuguese arrival. In this episode, I explore the geography and economy of the region from antiquity to the 15th century. The ma…
King John II of Portugal picked up where his grand-uncle, Prince Henry the Navigator, left off. His hopes of finding a direct maritime route around Africa to India are bouyed by the two voyages of Diogo Cao. Yet Cao doesn'…
The voyages of Columbus and da Gama were the early modern equivalent of the moon landing. They required new technologies, new ship designs, and new methods of seafaring. New technologies don't appear overnight. They evolve o…
In 1498, Vasco da Gama sailed directly from Portugal to India around the southern tip of Africa. His accomplishment and Columbus's would transform the world and usher in the age of true globalization. In this episode, I di…
Welcome to the I Take History With My Coffee podcast. This podcast will explore everything about the Early Modern period. In this introduction, I explain my motivation for creating this podcast as well as outline the goals…
