|
What gave Christopher Columbus the confidence
in 1492 to set out across the Atlantic Ocean? What persuaded
the king and queen of Spain to commission the voyage? It
would be convenient to believe that Columbus and his men
were uniquely courageous. A more reasonable explanation,
however, is that Columbus was heir to a body of knowledge
about seas and ships acquired at great cost over many centuries.
Fish on Friday tells a new story
of the discovery of America. In Brian Fagan's view, that
discovery is the product of the long sweep of history: the
spread of Christianity and the radical cultural changes
it brought to Europe, the interaction of economic necessity
with a changing climate, and generations of unknown fishermen
who explored the North Atlantic in the centuries before
Columbus. The Church's tradition of not eating meats on
holy days created a vast market for fish that could not
be fully satisfied by fish farms, better boats, or new preservation
techniques. Then, when climate change in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries diminished fish stocks off Norway
and Iceland, fishermen were forced to range ever farther
to the west -- eventually discovering incredibly rich shoals
within sight of Newfoundland, where they established seasonal
camps, moved down the coast, built permanent outposts, and,
a couple of centuries later, helped a struggling colony
of Pilgrims survive their first winter in the New World.
Encompassing ancient mythology, medieval
religion, boatbuilding and commerce, and cutting-edge climate
science, this dazzling and wide-ranging book sows the intricate
tapestry of history in all its fascinating, astonishing
complexity.
Brian Fagan is emeritus professor of
anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
His books include The Lttle Ice Age; Floods,
Famines, and Emperors; and The Long Summer. He
lives in Santa Barbara, California.
|
