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Loading... 1494: How a Family Feud in Medieval Spain Divided the World in Halfby Stephen R. Bown
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Stephen R. Bown is one of those generalist authors who focuses on historical events or stories and makes them come alive. 1494 is a great melange of historic tales and personalities tied together by the theme of the Treaty of Tordesillas, when Pope Alexander VI divided the world between Spain and Portugal. This is not a dry read, but an engaging one with chapters on Queen Elizabeth's famous privateer (Francis Drake), the Spanish Ferdinand and Isabella's piety that led Europe into one of the world's bloodiest periods of religious wars, and the most enthralling tellings of Columbus' discoveries in the New World I have yet to read...and has motivated me to go on to read Silvio Bedini's [b:The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia|15184640|The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia|Prentice Hall|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|20839946]. In short, the perfect easy-to-read book for someone interested in the stories and lives of the men and women who made 15-16C history--and in my mind a great gift for anyone who thinks history is boring...because how can the story of mankind not be incredibly fascinating, especially when it includes such heroes and villains as you'll find within the pages of 1494. 1494 is a fascinating account of the foundation of the Treaty of Tordesillas by Pope Alexander VI and its global, political and economic consequences. As the author explains, this is a ‘big picture’ view of the events that led to the establishment of the Portuguese and Spanish super-powers and their jostling to monopolise the riches of the known and expanding world. The tumultuous lives of monarchs, adventurers, clergy, pirates and philosophers are all brought to light together with the countless native populaces whose lives were impacted so dramatically during this time. This is a great book for the lay person who wants to get a solid historical overview of the period and not get too bogged down on the specifics of events. I gave this book three and a half stars, for both the rolling chronicle and relaxed writing style of the author.
Religious reconciliation meant recognizing the past and future authority of the Pope’s decisions in the matter of trade monopoly. Mr. Bown contends, “It is hard to conceive of another political decision that has had as great an impact on the makeup of today’s world as Pope Alexander VI’s bulls and the Treaty of Tordesillas.” Anyone who wishes to thoroughly understand the development of today’s geopolitical world must read Mr. Bown’s 1494: How a Family Feud in Medieval Spain Divided the World in Half. Then come the pirates of the Caribbean. Followed by the Inquisition, the Protestant Reformation, Francis Drake, the Spanish Armada and the Dutch East India Company, with war galore in between. We disembark finally in London, where apoplectic merchants implore a Dutch delegation to read a revolutionary pamphlet on freedom of the seas, Mare Liberum. Hugo Grotius, the leader of the Dutch, demolishes the pamphlet in argument – even though, unknown to the English, he was its anonymous author. It is a fitting conclusion to a story of head-spinning variety and reliably appalling behaviour. Bown argues against measuring the principals of this tale of blood, boldness and suffering with a modern yardstick, preferring to let his neutral account of their actions stick the shiv in Western civ. In adopting this approach, Bown gently pricks, but does not burst, our balloon.
Documents how Columbus's New World discoveries inflamed a conflict between the leaders of Portugal and Spain that was resolved by Pope Alexander VI, who proclaimed territory divisions in the Atlantic that had a profound influence on centuries of history. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)946.03History and Geography Europe Spain and Iberian Peninsula Spain Ferdinand V and Isabella 1479-1516LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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If you have an interest in figures like Columbus, Isabella and Magellan,as well as the treaty that divided the world between the two superpowers of the late 15th century and how that shaped geopolitics up to even recently this is certainly a good introduction. But if you want to really get into the history of the period, you'll want to pick up something else to supplement or instead of this. ( )