Conquerors

How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire

By: Roger Crowley

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

As remarkable as Columbus and the conquistador expeditions but far more wide ranging, the dynamic burst of Portuguese voyaging at the start of the 16th century is one of the tipping points of world history: the moment that the world went global. Within a short time span, a tiny country whose population did not exceed a million created a maritime empire that stretched from Brazil to Nagasaki.

Conquerors tells the almost forgotten story of how 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. In an astonishing blitz of 30 years, a handful of visionary empire builders, with few resources but breathtaking ambition, attempted to seize the Indian Ocean, destroy Islam, and take control of world trade. This is 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. Drawing on extensive firsthand 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 globalization.

Portugal was the imperial pathfinder, the template for a wave of successors. Its empire connected the world and created a framework for profound interactions. It left a huge and long-lasting influence on the culture, food, flora, art, history, and languages of the globe. It marked the start of 500 years of domination by the West, which is only reversing now.

©2015 Roger Crowley (P)2015 Recorded Books

Beautifully balanced

This is a story only vaguely known of in the West, and largely through the residual traces of Portuguese rule in places like Malacca, Goa and Mombassa.

A complex period of history is summarized clearly but without oversimplification, and like all of Crowley's books reads like a good novel. What is most admirable is his ability to imagine himself in the moment and to avoid the easy judgments of liberal 21st century anti-colonialist outrage. What the Portuguese did was outrageous by any modern yardstick, but Crowley allows the story to tell itself and for the reader to understand the actions of those conquerors, and of their enemies, with reference to the morality of that distant time.

A tremendous achievement; a great read.

Crowley at his best!

Exciting narrative history with compelling characters. The narrator does a fantastic job capturing the tone of the Portuguese. I could not recommend more highly to history readers or fans of Roger Crowley's previous work.

Fabulous history

Thorough history in fascinating format. One of my favorite authors. Well worth the read. Long but it ends too soon--wanted to keep listening.

Maritime History

Great look into Renaissance globalization and Portuguese sea faring history and highly recommend this book.

Deep Dive into Portugals Indian Conquest

This book is an incredibly detailed look into Portugal's conquest in India. If you're looking for a broader history on the Conquistador time period this is not the book for you. This book only focuses on the initial conquest into India and does not discuss the New World (which is what I was looking got initially).

The audio performer for this book was great. His inflection really put you into the grandiose chronicles of the Portugal voyages.