Conquistadores

A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest

By: Fernando Cervantes

Narrated by: Luis Soto

A sweeping, authoritative history of 16th-century Spain and its legendary conquistadors, whose ambitious and morally contradictory campaigns propelled a small European kingdom to become one of the formidable empires in the world

“The depth of research in this book is astonishing, but even more impressive is the analytical skill Cervantes applies. . . . [He] conveys complex arguments in delightfully simple language, and most importantly knows how to tell a good story.” —The Times (London)

Over the few short decades that followed Christopher Columbus's first landing in the Caribbean in 1492, Spain conquered the two most powerful civilizations of the Americas: the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru. Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, and the other explorers and soldiers that took part in these expeditions dedicated their lives to seeking political and religious glory, helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. But centuries later, these conquistadors have become the stuff of nightmares. In their own time, they were glorified as heroic adventurers, spreading Christian culture and helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. Today, they stand condemned for their cruelty and exploitation as men who decimated ancient civilizations and carried out horrific atrocities in their pursuit of gold and glory.

In Conquistadores, acclaimed Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes—himself a descendent of one of the conquistadors—cuts through the layers of myth and fiction to help us better understand the context that gave rise to the conquistadors' actions. Drawing upon previously untapped primary sources that include diaries, letters, chronicles, and polemical treatises, Cervantes immerses us in the late-medieval, imperialist, religious world of 16th-century Spain, a world as unfamiliar to us as the Indigenous peoples of the New World were to the conquistadors themselves. His thought-provoking, illuminating account reframes the story of the Spanish conquest of the New World and the half-century that irrevocably altered the course of history.

Great book

Idk that the writer is right about all of his conclusions but man, it was one interesting book. I didn’t know much going in and learned a ton. Highly recommend.

Phenomenal historical narrative, strange ending

Quickly became engrossed in the reading of this book which unfolded a historic narrative in rich detail of the internal and external drivers of the conquistadors. I would put it on the same shelf as Empire of the Summer Moon, except it lost me at the very end. It seems to suddenly conclude a premise in which modern readers can take away a lesson in the benefits of decentralized power while careful to overlook the hacienda system that truly underpinned everything the Spaniards built in the New World until the 20th century. The carefully pruned argument at the end made me look back on the book and realize how light a touch the author treats the abuse and enslavement of the indigenous people by the conquistadors Even though it is still there quite explicitly, it's mostly viewed with a kind of historical distance as a consequence of the historic forces, rather than the actions of persons with individual agency. The focus of the book, stated in the beginning, is the conquistadors and not the people they conquered. I would still highly recommend this book for people interested in the political, military, and historical accounts of this violent meeting of two worlds, but I would argue it holds no lessons for the modern reader except as an illustration of true level of human averice once the shackles of governance is removed.

Excellent profound and well researched analysis!

Narration very clear, text is engaging and research references are well indicated. No agenda, as unbiased as it gets.

Highly Recommended

The author digs deep into primary sources to reveal insights, nuances, and details. Really well done.

Balanced and Interesting

I only had the old HS information about the conquistadors. This was very enlightening. My only complaint, and this is happening with a lot of narrators, the narrator pronounces every name and place in Spanish. It makes things hard to follow. At times I was baffled about names of figures I knew. It is a dumb affectation. It would be a book in Spanish having the narrator say New York instead of Nuevo York.