An Empire forgotten?

It is hard to believe now that Spain was once in charge of a huge empire that straddled the world. This excellent, colourful account by Hugh Thomas captures that empire at its zenith, in the reign of Philip II. During the sixty years (1580-1640) that Spain and Portugal were united, their consolidated Empire effectively ruled the whole of South and Central America, the Caribbean, Florida; parts of the coast of Africa, India and Arabia; the Philippines and other footholds in South-East Asia, and Macao in China. The ambition and resilience of the adventurers that spread this vast blanket of colonies is incredible, and is described fully in Thomas's Spanish Empire Trilogy, of which this is the final volume.

These books describe how the Spanish took many things with them on their travels: flamboyant architecture, a global religion, administration, social hierarchy and, most devastating of all, disease. The figures cannot be certain, but the book suggests two-thirds of the native peoples may have been wiped out by diseases brought over from Europe.

Most of this book is full of unbelievable stories: the search for limitless gold in the fabled but non-existent El Dorado; the mad ramblings, right across the continent of South America, of Lope de Aguirre, "the Wrath of God"; the pirates who preyed on the convoys of treasure ships returning to Europe; the sheer courage and determination of the sailors who took off from South America to find "the Islands of the West", what would become the Philippines. The story could have become even more incredible. Spain seriously contemplated invading China. The key event that may have persuaded Philip II not to undertake an assault on the Ming Dynasty was the failure of his Armada against England in 1588. Caution prevailed, despite the efforts of enthusiasts to persuade Philip and his successor to authorise an invasion force. As Professor Thomas speculates, how different history might have been if the Spanish had overcome the Ming Emperors before the Manchus.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learnt a lot I didn't know. I have to declare an interest: Hugh Thomas was my history professor at Reading University back in the 1960s. He was a charismatic lecturer, e.g. bringing in music to his talks; an interesting character and, at the time, a would-be Labour MP. Later on he was one of those who "turned right" and advised Mrs Thatcher. Whatever his politics, his books are brilliant history: his account of the Spanish Civil War is famous, and his massive history of Cuba sits on the bottom shelf of my bookcase like a small blockhouse. His accounts of the Spanish Empire are fascinating reads: highly recommended.