The book by British historian Roger Crowley is dedicated to the era of great conquests and geographical discoveries of the 15th–16th centuries. In less than thirty years of the reign of King Manuel I, Portuguese sailors managed to tame the winds of the Atlantic, conquer the oceans and establish themselves in uncharted lands - Vasco da Gama opened the sea route to India, Pedro Cabral reached the shores of South America, Francisco de Almeida became the first Viceroy of India, Afonso di Albuquerque founded colonies in the Persian Gulf and Malacca. The author vividly and vividly describes the life and exploits of these fearless sailors, shipwrecks, naval battles and other severe trials that befell the founders of the first world empire. Roger Crowley also talks about navigation and shipbuilding, trade, diplomacy and the development of science during the period of Portuguese expansion that marked the beginning of the modern era.