Conquerors
The history of Portuguese discovery is practically forgotten, despite the fact that Columbus and the conquistador missions are legendary. Portugal's navigators, on the other hand, solved the code of the Atlantic winds, launched Vasco da Gama's trip to India, and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East, before embarking on the creation of the world's first long-range maritime empire. With scant resources but incredible ambition, a few of brilliant and ruthless empire builders attempted to grab the Indian Ocean, destroy Islam, and gain control of international trade in a stunning 30-year blitz. This is narrative history at its most vivid - an epic tale of navigation, trade, and technology, money and religious zealotry, political diplomacy and espionage, and naval wars - told with Roger Crowley's trademark brilliance and energy.
