The Golden Empire

Spain, Charles V, and the Creation of America

Nonfiction, History, Spain & Portugal, Military, Americas
Cover of the book The Golden Empire by Hugh Thomas, Random House Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Hugh Thomas ISBN: 9781588369048
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group Publication: August 23, 2011
Imprint: Random House Language: English
Author: Hugh Thomas
ISBN: 9781588369048
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publication: August 23, 2011
Imprint: Random House
Language: English

From a master chronicler of Spanish history comes a magnificent work about the pivotal years from 1522 to 1566, when Spain was the greatest European power. Hugh Thomas has written a rich and riveting narrative of exploration, progress, and plunder. At its center is the unforgettable ruler who fought the French and expanded the Spanish empire, and the bold conquistadors who were his agents. Thomas brings to life King Charles V—first as a gangly and easygoing youth, then as a liberal statesman who exceeded all his predecessors in his ambitions for conquest (while making sure to maintain the humanity of his new subjects in the Americas), and finally as a besieged Catholic leader obsessed with Protestant heresy and interested only in profiting from those he presided over.

The Golden Empire also presents the legendary men whom King Charles V sent on perilous and unprecedented expeditions: Hernán Cortés, who ruled the “New Spain” of Mexico as an absolute monarch—and whose rebuilding of its capital, Tenochtitlan, was Spain’s greatest achievement in the sixteenth century; Francisco Pizarro, who set out with fewer than two hundred men for Peru, infamously executed the last independent Inca ruler, Atahualpa, and was finally murdered amid intrigue; and Hernando de Soto, whose glittering journey to settle land between Rio de la Palmas in Mexico and the southernmost keys of Florida ended in disappointment and death. Hugh Thomas reveals as never before their torturous journeys through jungles, their brutal sea voyages amid appalling storms and pirate attacks, and how a cash-hungry Charles backed them with loans—and bribes—obtained from his German banking friends.

A sweeping, compulsively readable saga of kings and conquests, armies and armadas, dominance and power, The Golden Empire is a crowning achievement of the Spanish world’s foremost historian.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From a master chronicler of Spanish history comes a magnificent work about the pivotal years from 1522 to 1566, when Spain was the greatest European power. Hugh Thomas has written a rich and riveting narrative of exploration, progress, and plunder. At its center is the unforgettable ruler who fought the French and expanded the Spanish empire, and the bold conquistadors who were his agents. Thomas brings to life King Charles V—first as a gangly and easygoing youth, then as a liberal statesman who exceeded all his predecessors in his ambitions for conquest (while making sure to maintain the humanity of his new subjects in the Americas), and finally as a besieged Catholic leader obsessed with Protestant heresy and interested only in profiting from those he presided over.

The Golden Empire also presents the legendary men whom King Charles V sent on perilous and unprecedented expeditions: Hernán Cortés, who ruled the “New Spain” of Mexico as an absolute monarch—and whose rebuilding of its capital, Tenochtitlan, was Spain’s greatest achievement in the sixteenth century; Francisco Pizarro, who set out with fewer than two hundred men for Peru, infamously executed the last independent Inca ruler, Atahualpa, and was finally murdered amid intrigue; and Hernando de Soto, whose glittering journey to settle land between Rio de la Palmas in Mexico and the southernmost keys of Florida ended in disappointment and death. Hugh Thomas reveals as never before their torturous journeys through jungles, their brutal sea voyages amid appalling storms and pirate attacks, and how a cash-hungry Charles backed them with loans—and bribes—obtained from his German banking friends.

A sweeping, compulsively readable saga of kings and conquests, armies and armadas, dominance and power, The Golden Empire is a crowning achievement of the Spanish world’s foremost historian.

More books from Random House Publishing Group

Cover of the book Having Your Baby by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Saboteur: Star Wars Legends (Darth Maul) (Short Story) by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book BabySafe in Seven Steps by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Play Ball by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Lighting Up by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Hunt for Vulcan by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Poorhouse Fair by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Songs of Willow Frost by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Cinnamon Skin by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book It Looked Different on the Model by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Crystal Line by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Make Me Stay by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Screenplay by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book What's Yours Is Mine by Hugh Thomas
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy