Terrae Incognitae

Aims & Scope

Terrae Incognitae is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal published for the Society for the History of Discoveries.

The aim is to examine the history and impact of geographic exploration and cross-cultural interaction around the globe prior to the modern era.

Each issue includes an expansive book review section.

Recent articles have ranged from the use of DNA technology to track the movement of chickens and thus populations in pre-historic Oceania to the role of the Order of Christ in furthering 16th-century Portuguese expansion; from the significance of inter-cultural adoption or rejection of clothing for understanding cross-cultural interaction to Marco Polo’s influence on cartography.

Terrae Incognitae accepts contributions relating to geographic exploration and its impact from all chronologies before the modern era and relating to any part of the globe.

The journal welcomes comparative and interdisciplinary studies as well as those focused on a particular time or place.

The origin of geographic discovery and exploration is lost to the mist of time—perhaps when an early hominid went searching for game and discovered another group of humans.

Geographic discovery is about more than the moment of discovery, however.

It is about theoretical geography put into practice; it is about bankrolling expeditions, whether through the investment of wealthy widows, old age pensions, financiers, or governments; it is about maps and mapmakers; it is about diplomats, missionaries, explorers, scallywags and pirates, naturalists, and merchant-adventurers.

Geographic discovery is about people broadening their horizons, encountering one another for the first time, struggling to understand a foreign culture, and braving the unknown in search of a new destiny.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	0.2
2024	0.50

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	0.106

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q4

h-index

Year	Value
2024	7

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	29032

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	9

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Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

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Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Arts and Humanities, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

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Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• English Territorial Claims in North America Under Elizabeth and the Early Stuarts

  Citation: 15

  Authors: John T.

• Theory Versus Practical Application in the History of Early Ocean Navigation

  Citation: 13

  Authors: Douglas T.

• The Treasure-Ships of Zheng He: Chinese Maritime Imperialism in the Age of Discovery

  Citation: 11

  Authors: Robert

• The Historical Role of British Explorers in East Africa

  Citation: 9

  Authors: Roy C.

• Columbus and the Method of Lunar Distance

  Citation: 7

  Authors: Arne B.

• Science by Litigation: A Cosmographic Feud

  Citation: 7

  Authors: Ursula

• Portuguese Communication with Africans on the Searoute to India

  Citation: 6

  Authors: Jeanne

• In the Wake of Columbus on a Portolan Chart

  Citation: 6

  Authors: James E.

• The Forgotten Journey: Georg Heinrich Langsdorff and the Russian Imperial Scientific Expedition to Brazil, 1821–1829

  Citation: 6

  Authors: Roderick J.

• The<i>Diario de Colón:</i>A Legacy of Poor Transcription, Translation, and Interpretation

  Citation: 6

  Authors: Robert H.

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