At Crowley s hand, the complete story of the Portuguese empire and the human cost of its ambition can finally be told. Crowley s interpretations are nuanced and fair. Portugal was the imperial pathfinder, the template for a wave of successors. In the process they created the first long-range maritime empire and set in motion the forces of globalization that now shape our world. In the process they created the first long-range maritime empire and set in motion the forces of globalization that now shape our world. Drawing on extensive first-hand accounts, it brings to life the exploits of an extraordinary band of conquerors – men such as Afonso de Albuquerque, the first European since Alexander the Great to found an Asian empire – who set in motion five hundred years of European colonisation and unleashed the forces of globalisation. Drawing on extensive first-hand accounts, it brings to life the exploits of an extraordinary band of conquerors - men such as Afonso de Albuquerque, the first European since Alexander the Great to found an Asian empire - who set in motion the forces of globalisation.

Told with Roger Crowley’s customary skill and verve, this is narrative history at its most vivid – an epic tale of navigation, trade and technology, money and religious zealotry, political diplomacy and espionage, sea battles and shipwrecks, endurance, courage and terrifying brutality. Crowley relies on letters and eyewitness testimony to tell the story of tiny Portugals rapid and breathtaking rise to power. In an astonishing blitz of thirty years, a handful of visionary and utterly ruthless empire builders, with few resources but breathtaking ambition, attempted to seize the Indian Ocean, destroy Islam and take control of world trade. But Portugal’s navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East – then set about creating the first long-range maritime empire. Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire Audible Audiobook Unabridged Roger Crowley (Author), Jonathan Davis (Narrator), & 1 more 827 ratings Editors' pick Best History See all formats and editions Kindle 13.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0. As remarkable as Columbus and the conquistador expeditions, the history of Portuguese exploration is now almost forgotten.

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