cover of episode Disasters in the Age of Discovery

Disasters in the Age of Discovery

2025/6/3
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Dan Snow: 我被发现时代远洋航行的危险性深深震撼。早期探险家们对天气、洋流和航海技术缺乏了解，他们航行于未知水域，面临着风暴、暗礁和疾病的威胁。船只简陋，食物恶劣，船员们身心俱疲，甚至互相残杀。令人费解的是，明知风险巨大，为何仍有人踏上探险之旅？部分原因可能是欺骗、绝望或盲目的乐观。 Simon Parker: 15世纪末，航行范围扩大，探险家们到达了前所未有的未知之地。达伽马绕过好望角进入印度洋，哥伦布则意外到达美洲。这些航行面临着自然灾害的威胁，如风暴和风平浪静，以及当地居民的各种反应。早期的船只规模小，由木头和钉子制成，空间狭小，船员们随时面临着危险。船只需要在停靠时进行重建，但有时船员们会偷工减料，导致灾难发生。 即使是经验丰富的航海家，如达伽马和麦哲伦，也经历过险些致命的航行。达伽马的返程之旅险些失败，麦哲伦则在菲律宾丧生。疾病，特别是坏血病，是航行中的一大威胁，导致大量船员死亡。欧洲人的到来也给美洲土著人口带来了毁灭性的疾病。 16世纪，约有12%的船只在航行中沉没，这主要源于人为错误，例如超载货物导致船只不稳定。西班牙殖民佛罗里达的尝试多次失败，英国和法国的早期殖民尝试也并不成功。这表明，所谓的发现时代并非一帆风顺，而是充满了混乱和挑战。 圣若昂号的沉船故事则展现了航行的残酷现实。船长曼努埃尔·德·索萨·德·塞普尔维达及其家人在回程途中遭遇风暴，舵杆断裂，船只最终沉没。数百名船员在海上遇难，幸存者们在南非海岸艰难求生，面临着饥饿、疾病和当地居民的敌意。最终，只有少数人返回葡萄牙。这个故事反映了早期航行的危险和不确定性，以及欧洲人与当地居民之间的复杂关系。 人们参与航行的动机复杂多样，既有对财富和荣誉的追求，也有盲目的乐观和绝望。但贪婪是16世纪航海中一个反复出现的主题，许多航海家都为此付出了惨痛的代价。 Father Antonio Gomes: 我向一位年长的非洲酋长抱怨大海的无情，他回答说：‘既然你知道大海疯狂且没有头脑，为何还要冒险进入呢？’这句充满智慧的话语，道出了发现时代航海的本质风险。

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The dawn of the age of European exploration in the 16th century was absurdly dangerous. Crews on the ships of Christopher Columbus, Vasco De Gama and Ferdinand Magellan often sailed blind into uncharted waters, battling hurricanes and deadly reefs. With crude navigation tools, rotting food, and disease-ridden ships, survival was never guaranteed. Crews were pushed to their limits—physically, mentally, and morally. Some were deceived into the journey, and others driven by blind hope.

In this episode, Dan is joined by Simon Parker, an associate professor in Medieval and Renaissance Portuguese at the University of Oxford, to tell some of the stories of extraordinary failure and disaster in the age of discovery.

His new book is called Wreckers: Disaster in the Age of Discovery

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore

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