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 Wicked Fantasy by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Wanting It All by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Mr. Lucky by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Express by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book 18 Best Stories by Edgar Allan Poe by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Peach Keeper by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Bones of Paris by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book How Can We Light a Fire When the Kids Are Driving Us Crazy? by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Soul of Power by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book A Counterfeit Betrothal/The Notorious Rake by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Glass Palace by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The Great Derangement by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other by Hugh Thomas
Cover of the book The City (with bonus short story The Neighbor) 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