En busca de los pasajes… Rutas oceánicas, viajes y embajadas entre la Europa y las Indias (siglos XVI-XVII)

Between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century traveling under the Portuguese or Spanish flag implied the use of alternative ocean routes. As the search for passages continued, the two Iberian nations organized routes to the East Indies that were also used by the two embassies from Japan to reach the pope. These experiences show how the cultural and cartographic elaboration of geographical informations from distant countries took place in Europe. They also point out how the Japanese, although not great travelers, had strong commercial interests that motivated them to perform, in thirty years, two trips and to virtually circumnavigate the globe.