Thoughts on “Over the Edge of the World” (book)

I bought this book twice… and if given the opportunity, I will buy it the third time. It’s that good, unpretentious, sometimes glorifying as any epic adventures and terrifying as the title claims. This book is a film in itself forged in a manuscript, the reel is ingrained with its edifying words. Exploration books nowadays are often overlooked due to the proliferation of mobile maps and summarized accounts of certain historical events. This is an ultra-detailed account that has a slow, intense burn.

“The circumnavigation forever altered the Western world’s ideas about cosmology — the study of the universe and our place in it — as well as geography.”

While most who have read this book might contend that it’s particularly focused on Magellan’s oceanic quest, one of my main takeaway is the gripping, corrupt politics that traced back to the olden times. This is probably at the height of when man plays god, only to find themselves imprisoned in bureaucracy.

On June 7, 1494, Pope Alexander VI divided the world in half, bestowing the western portion on Spain, and the Eastern on Portugal.”

Around 1519, two world powers controlled the seas, and spice, which was considered as valuable as gold and oil, both countries undertook an intense rivalry for control of the spice trade. This is a tale on how Magellan with his five ships and about 200 sailors set sail from Spain to find a water route to the infamous Spice Islands.

“The ships were mostly black — pitch black. They derived their blackness, and their ominous aura, from the tar covering the hull, masts, and rigging, practically every exposed surface of the ship except for the sails.”

Fast forward to contemporary times, this battle moved from geographic wars to a political one, mostly posturing. History repeats itself although in some cases, in a different form with the same devastating results.