Welcome to the History of English Podcast, a podcast about the history of the English

language.

This is Episode 145, a sea change for Europe.

In this episode, we're going to begin our look at a very important development that helps

to mark the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

Not development is the period of exploration that led to the European discovery of the

New World in 1492.

This is an important part of the history of English because it set the stage for the

expansion of European languages around the world, and it allowed English to spread beyond

the British Isles to become a true international language.

But it all began with a sea change in the way people thought about the world in the mid-1400s.

Literally, a sea change, they started to think about the ocean differently.

It went from an obstacle to a global highway, and that global highway soon led to the discovery

of the New World.

So this time, we'll explore those interesting developments in the world of navigation and

seafaring.

But before we begin, let me remind you that the website for the podcast is historyofenglishpodcast.com,

and you can sign up to support the podcast and get bonus episodes and transcripts at

patreon.com slash historyofenglish.

Now before we begin, let me note that this is really the first of two episodes about

the period of exploration and discovery in the late 1400s.

This time, we'll look at how Europeans dip their toes into the water and begin to think

...