In attempting to get what is little less than a history of the world, from a special point of view, into a couple of hundred duodecimo pages, I have had to make three bites at my very big cherry.

In the Appendix I have given in chronological order, and for the first time on such a scale in English, the chief voyages and explorations by which our knowledge of the world has been increased, and the chief works in which that knowledge has been recorded.

In the body of the work I have then attempted to connect together these facts in their more general aspects.

In particular I have grouped the great voyages of 1492-1521 round the search for the Spice Islands as a central motive.

It is possible that in tracing the Portuguese and Spanish discoveries to the need of titillating the parched palates of the mediaevals, who lived on salt meat during winter and salt fish during Lent, I may have unduly simplified the problem.
But there can be no doubt of the paramount importance attached to the spices of the East in the earlier stages.