The Golden Age: The Spanish Empire of Charles V - Softcover

Thomas, Hugh

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141034491 ISBN 13: 9780141034492

Publisher: Penguin, 2011

Synopsis

Moving between Spanish conquest abroad and the court of the astute Charles V, Hugh Thomas's The Golden Age: The Spanish Empire of Charles V is the second volume in a planned trilogy on the Spanish Empire.

When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in South America in the sixteenth century, they swept across the continent in a blaze of imperial expansion and brutal savagery.

Beginning with the return of the remnants of Magellan's circumnavigation in 1522 and ending with Charles's death in 1558, Hugh Thomas's masterful work brilliantly brings to life one of the most extraordinary periods of the Renaissance, revealing how the Spaniards were able to conquer Guatemala, Yucatan, Columbia, Venezuela, Peru and Chile; how the audacious conquistador Francisco de Orellana sailed down the Amazon, why Cabeza de Vaca walked from Florida to Mexico and what drove Hernando de Soto to pursue worldly riches in Florida, Mississippi and Georgia.

While adventurers and explorers like Cortés and Pizarro build entire cities and amassed vast wealth from the treasures of the land, they also killed thousands, and left the indelible mark of Spain's language and religion for centuries to come.

'Thomas tells the story of missionary zeal and military plunder with a zest worthy of a swashbuckling historical novelist'
  The Times

'A riveting story of adventure and cruelty ... a considerable scholarly accomplishment'
  Ben Wilson, Daily Telegraph

'This monumental history is an extraordinary achievement ... A beguilingly-written account of a fascinating subject'

Alexander Samson, The Times Higher Education Supplement

Hugh Thomas is the author of, among other books, The Spanish Civil War (1962), which won the Somerset Maugham Award, Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom (1971), An Unfinished History of the World (1979), and the first volume of his Spanish Empire trilogy, Rivers of Gold (2003).

About this title

Product Description:

CHARLES V, EMPEROR OF EUROPE AND THE NEW WORLD, IS THE CENTRAL FIGURE IN THE SECOND VOLUME OF HUGH THOMAS GREAT HISTORY OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE. IT BEGINS WITH THE RETURN OF THE REMNANTS OF MAGELLAN S EXPEDITION AROUND THE WORLD IN 1522 AND ENDS WITH CHARLES DEATH IN 1558. IN THE DECADES BETWEEN, THE SPANIARDS CONQUER GUATEMALA, YUCATAN, COLUMBIA, VENEZUELA, PERU AND CHILE, AND CONTROL THE BANKS OF THE MIGHTY RIVER PLATE; THE AUDACIOUS CONQUISTADOR FRANCISCO DE ORELLANA JOURNEYS DOWN THE AMAZON, CABEZA DE VACA WALKS FROM FLORIDA TO MEXICO, JUAN VAZQUEZ CORONADO PIONEERS INTO NEW MEXICO AND HERNANDO DE SOTO VAINLY PURSUES WORLDLY RICHES IN FLORIDA, MISSISSIPPI AND GEORGIA. HUGH THOMAS WRITES VIVIDLY, CONVEYING THE CONQUERORS ALMOST DISBELIEVING SENSE OF WHAT THEY WERE ACHIEVING. THE DISCOVERY AND SUBJUGATION OF SO MANY NATIVE PEOPLE RAISED ENORMOUS CONTROVERSY WITHIN SPAIN ABOUT HOW THEY SHOULD BE TREATED, A DEBATE THOMAS EXPLORES PERCEPTIVELY, WITH AN EYE FOR RESONANCES HAVE LASTED CENTURIES. HUGH THOMAS BRINGS ALIVE ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY AND INFLUENTIAL MOMENTS IN HIGH RENAISSANCE AND WORLD HISTORY.

About the Author:

In 2008 Hugh Thomas was made a Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et Lettres in France and in 2009 received the Calvo Serer Prize, The Boccacio Prize, and Nonino Prize in Italy. He is the author of, among other books, The Spanish Civil War, which won the Somerset Maugham Award, The Suez Affair, Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom, An Unfinished History of the World, Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés and the Fall of Old Mexico, The Slave Trade and the first volume of his Spanish Empire trilogy, Rivers of Gold, which was reissued to coincide with publication of the second volume.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0141034491
• ISBN 13: 9780141034492
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 736