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The final decade of the fifteenth century was a turning point in world history. The Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus sailed westward on the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, famously determined to discover for Spain a shorter and more direct route to the riches of the Indies. Meanwhile, a fellow Italian explorer for hire, John Cabot, set off on his own journey, under England's flag. Here, Douglas Hunter tells the fascinating tale of how, during this expedition, Columbus gained a rival. In the space of a few critical years, these two men engaged in a high-stakes race that threatened the precarious diplomatic balance of Europe-to exploit what they believed was a shortcut to staggering wealth. Instead, they found a New World that neither was looking for. Hunter provides a revelatory look at how the lives of Columbus and Cabot were interconnected, and how neither explorer can be understood properly without understanding both.



About the Author

Douglas Hunter

Douglas Hunter has written extensively on historical matters, including marine and terrestrial archaeology, cartography, and exploration. He is presently a doctoral candidate in history at Canada's York University. He maintains the blog Age of Discovery News and can be followed on Twitter at @ageofdiscovery and @DWHauthor. His author website is www.douglashunter.ca, and it provides additional materials on recent releases and archived magazine and journal articles. You can also find him at Librarything and .
His most recent books are:
* The Race to the New World, on the exploration rivalry between Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. Visit www.racenewworld.org to learn more
* Half Moon, on the Henry Hudson voyage of 1609
* God's Mercies, on the traumatic convergence in the careers of Samuel de Champlain and Henry Hudson.
His work on historical subjects has also appeared in Canadian Geographic and Canada's History (formerly The Beaver) and at History News Network. He is a featured interview in National Geographic's The Hudson: The River that Defined America, and in the CBC documentary The Mystery of Champlain. He won the 2003 National Business Book Award for The Bubble and the Bear. God's Mercies was a finalist for both the Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize and the Governor-General's Literary Awards.
A lifelong sailor, he is coauthor with Steve Killing of Yacht Design Explained. He raced Lightnings in his youth, and campaigned a Fusion 15 racing dinghy more recently. An advocate of Great Lakes wilderness cruising, he explores Georgian Bay aboard a C&C 27.



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