Empire : how Spain became a world power, 1492-1763 / Henry Kamen.

By:

Kamen, Henry

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: New York : HarperCollins, c2003.Edition: 1st American edDescription: xxviii, 608 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 23 cm.; PbkISBN:

9780060932640 (alk. paper)

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

946.03 KAM

LOC classification:

DP164

Online resources:

Publisher description

Contents:

1.Foundations 2.The early western empire 3.A new world 4.Creating a world power 5.The Pearl of the Orient 6.The frontier 7.The business of world power 8.Identities and the civilizing mission 9.Shoring up the empire (1630-1700) 10.Under new management Conclusion : the silence of Pizarro.

Summary: "How did a barren, thinly populated country, somewhat isolated from the rest of Europe, establish itself as the world's first superpower? Henry Kamen's impressive new book offers a fresh and highly original answer. Empire is a global survey of the two and a half centuries, from the late fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth, in which the Spaniards established the most extensive empire the world had ever known, ranging from Naples and the Netherlands to the Philippines. Unlike previous accounts, which have presented the empire as a direct consequence of Spanish power, this provocative work of history emphasizes the inability of Spain to run an imperial enterprise by itself. The role of conquest was deceptive. Spain's rise to power was actually made possible by the collaboration of international business interests, including Italian financiers, German technicians and Dutch traders, in the task of setting up networks of contact ranging across the oceans. At the height of its apparent power, the Spanish empire was in reality a global enterprise in which non-Spaniards-Portuguese, Basque, Aztec, Genoese, Chinese, Flemish, West African, Incan and Neapolitan-played an essential role. It is this vast diversity of resources and people, which included many of its greatest adventurers and soldiers, that made Spain's power so overwhelming. There is no better account in English of this time. Henry Kamen's book provides a highly relevant analysis of the origins and nature of imperial power, and of global economic activity. Challenging, persuasive and unique in its thesis, Empire explores Spain's complex impact on world history with admirable clarity and intelligence."--Jacket.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Books	H.T. Parekh Library	SIAS Collection	946.03 KAM (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		K2364

Originally published: Spain's road to empire. London : Penguin, 2002.
$19.99 USA

Includes bibliographical references (p. 567-576) and index.

1.Foundations
2.The early western empire
3.A new world
4.Creating a world power
5.The Pearl of the Orient
6.The frontier
7.The business of world power
8.Identities and the civilizing mission
9.Shoring up the empire (1630-1700)
10.Under new management
Conclusion : the silence of Pizarro.

"How did a barren, thinly populated country, somewhat isolated from the rest of Europe, establish itself as the world's first superpower? Henry Kamen's impressive new book offers a fresh and highly original answer. Empire is a global survey of the two and a half centuries, from the late fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth, in which the Spaniards established the most extensive empire the world had ever known, ranging from Naples and the Netherlands to the Philippines. Unlike previous accounts, which have presented the empire as a direct consequence of Spanish power, this provocative work of history emphasizes the inability of Spain to run an imperial enterprise by itself. The role of conquest was deceptive. Spain's rise to power was actually made possible by the collaboration of international business interests, including Italian financiers, German technicians and Dutch traders, in the task of setting up networks of contact ranging across the oceans. At the height of its apparent power, the Spanish empire was in reality a global enterprise in which non-Spaniards-Portuguese, Basque, Aztec, Genoese, Chinese, Flemish, West African, Incan and Neapolitan-played an essential role. It is this vast diversity of resources and people, which included many of its greatest adventurers and soldiers, that made Spain's power so overwhelming. There is no better account in English of this time. Henry Kamen's book provides a highly relevant analysis of the origins and nature of imperial power, and of global economic activity. Challenging, persuasive and unique in its thesis, Empire explores Spain's complex impact on world history with admirable clarity and intelligence."--Jacket.

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