Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A sweeping, authoritative history that aims to deepen our understanding of the campaigns and conquests that propelled a small European kingdom to become one of the greatest empires in the world Over the few short decades that followed Christopher Columbus's first landing in the Caribbean in 1492, Spain conquered the two most formidable civilizations of the Americas: the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru. Hern n Cort s, Francisco Pizarro, and the other explorers and soldiers that took part in these expeditions dedicated their lives to seeking political and religious glory, helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen.
Centuries later, two dominant narratives about these conquests have prevailed--one of the romance and exoticism of adventure, the other of cruelty and exploitation of innocent people at the service of politics and religious bigotry. In The Conquistadors, Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes--himself a descendent of one of the conquistadors--tells the complete story of the conquests while steering a middle course between these two viewpoints. He argues that, while the conquistadors had undeniable faults, the tendency to condemn them tells us more about our modern sense of shame than it does about their original intentions.
Drawing upon previously untapped primary sources that include diaries, letters, chronicles, and polemical treatises, Cervantes reframes the story of the Spanish conquest of the New World, examining the late medieval world from which the conquistadors emerged. At the heart of the story are the conquistadors themselves, whose epic ambitions and moral contradictions defined an era, as well as their supporters and detractors. Cervantes helps us understand them on their own terms and shows us how their achievements still have much to tell us in our increasingly post-nationalist world.
Synopsis
The Conquistadores: The Untold History of Spanish Discovery and Empire
Synopsis
A sweeping, authoritative history of 16th-century Spain and its legendary conquistadors, whose ambitious and morally contradictory campaigns propelled a small European kingdom to become one of the formidable empires in the world "The depth of research in this book is astonishing, but even more impressive is the analytical skill Cervantes applies. . . . He] conveys complex arguments in delightfully simple language, and most importantly knows how to tell a good story." --The Times (London)
Over the few short decades that followed Christopher Columbus's first landing in the Caribbean in 1492, Spain conquered the two most formidable civilizations of the Americas: the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru. Hern n Cort s, Francisco Pizarro, and the other explorers and soldiers that took part in these expeditions dedicated their lives to seeking political and religious glory, helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. But centuries later, these conquistadors have become the stuff of nightmares. In their own time, they were glorified as heroic adventurers, spreading Christian culture and helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. Today, they stand condemned for their cruelty and exploitation as men who decimated ancient civilizations and carried out horrific atrocities in their pursuit of gold and glory.
In Conquistadores, acclaimed Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes--himself a descendent of one of the conquistadors--cuts through the layers of myth and fiction to help us better understand the context that gave rise to the conquistadors' actions. Drawing upon previously untapped primary sources that include diaries, letters, chronicles, and polemical treatises, Cervantes immerses us in the late-medieval, imperialist, religious world of 16th-century Spain, a world as unfamiliar to us as the Indigenous peoples of the New World were to the conquistadors themselves. His thought-provoking, illuminating account reframes the story of the Spanish conquest of the New World and the half-century that irrevocably altered the course of history.