The Conquistadors

By Matthew Restall and Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Book Overview

With startling speed, Spanish conquistadors invaded hundreds of Native American kingdoms, took over the mighty empires of the Aztecs and Incas, and initiated an unprecedented redistribution of the world's resources and balance of power. They changed the course of history, but the myth they established was even stranger than their real achievements. This Very Short Introduction deploys the latest scholarship to shatter and replace the traditional narrative. Chapters explore New World civilizations prior to the invasions, the genesis of conquistador culture on both sides of the Atlantic, the roles black Africans and Native Americans played, and the consequences of the invasions. The book reveals who the conquistadors were and what made their adventures possible.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195392299
• ISBN13: 9780195392296
• Release Date: January 2012
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Don't Buy the Book - Beware

Don't buy this edition of the book. There may be others, but this edition of the book is infitesimally small (in fact tiny) with tiny print, and a very slim 110 page book on an immense subject. Aside from its brevity, it is not meant for human reading - the print is that small. It is only readable for those with 20-10 vision. Unfortunately, it's a complete rip-off at any price, despite the formidable status of the authors. I bet they weren't happy with its actual publication either. And it's not 144 pages, it's 125 with the index. Maybe the book description is referring to another edition.