Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan

Very difficult to read because of excessive details. Geographic details of Spain's districts and much of the interworking of Europe is difficult to follow unless you have a Gazeteer open, and access to look-up references. You really need a map of the new world to reference as you read unless you are thoroughly familiar with the countries and islands or Central and South America. I think that it is very revelatory history, and super well researched, but again overkill for someone just seeking to expand basic understanding of the events or exploration.

This book has an odd mix of excessive detail, lack of analysis, and engaging stories that never quite add up to a coherent narrative. I started it with the greatest enthusiasm, as I was reading about a dazzling array of personalities I dimly remembered from middle school texts, but towards the middle of the book felt lost in all the aristocratic titles, complete cargo lists, painstakingly twisted theological disputes, and gruesome skirmishes with doomed Indian chiefs. The reader, or at least I, simply could not see quite where the author was intending to go with all the facts and figures. It was like he was not just mistaking the forest for the trees, but for individual leaves.Indeed, this is really two books. In the first 450 pages, in my reading, the author paints a tableau of the how the politics of a newly united Spain impacted first the explorers and then the conquistadors of the Americas. Fernando and Isabel not only united Aragon and Castille in a uniquely successful joint monarchy as sovereigns of their respective kingdoms as well as brought a highly independent aristocracy under tighter control, but they expelled the last Moslems as well as all non-converted Jews from southern Spain in 1492. These issues left them little time to pay attention to the explorers, though they (or Isabel) did seem to favor Columbus, who was granted unusually extensive rights. Their stories are successfully intermingled.Isabel's motives for authorizing Columbus' explorations were complex: spread the faith, open a new trade route, and find gold. While many modern accounts pay attention only to the secular motives - the early voyages were largely financed by private interests - they also included Catholic preachers who were skilled at setting up administrative infrastructures that would endure as Indians were herded into a kind of bonded serfdom (encomienda) under local Spanish rulers. This first contact between cultures is told in fascinating and appropriate detail, leading both to the genocide but also to ethical debates that certainly had some impact. Finally, as the Indians were proving poorly adapted to slavery in the gold mines, Thomas also covers the debate that eventually brought black slaves from Africa, which completed the demise of the Indians in the Caribbean.As Columbus proved an incompetent administrator, others began to claim their own geographical areas of influence, creating complexity completely ungovernable from the capital in Spain. It is here that wide-ranging experiments begin, from humane to unbelievably savage, all in the name of Christ and gold. Oddly, it appears that their consciences were clear: some fought for Indians' rights, others were content to massacre "cannibals". This is a fairly coherent narrative and worth the price of admission (to p. 300 or so).Unfortunately, the book begins to unravel at the accession of Charles V in the remaining 250 pages. Suddenly, the details of the European power struggles and courtly life come to the fore, and there is seemingly little to connect them to the Americas. Indeed, Thomas' coverage becomes erratic, and the reader gets lost in endless details of how many barrels of wine were included in cargoes, who was saying what in the policy debates, etc. Bored and confused, I began to yearn for the book to end, that is, about half way through it becomes an in comprehensible slog.Then it gets worse: in the last 100 pages, Thomas moves into summary mode, covering the conquest of Mexico in 40 pages and Magellan's voyage in about 15. It feels pasted on and superficial, like it was added at the behest of editors or Thomas simply ran out of energy. Finally, the conclusion does nothing whatsoever to tie it all together: instead, he enters into an elaborate description of the economy of Seville and its administrative apparatus, only implying that they determined how the new empire would be governed. This profoundly disappointed me and I believe I will have to seek answers to questions elsewhere, i.e. why did economic energy move from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic at that time? Why did the political regimes that emerged become so tumultuously violent and autocratic?Further, I was surprised at the stuffy hauteur of the book, at once arrogantly academic in its tiring details and pedantic in its spooning out of lessons that are often banal. (Yes, Columbus was a "great explorer", as we repeatedly learn.) In short, in my eyes, the author wrote like a snob and did not exercise the discipline that a good editor should have imposed on him. That adds up to failure for me.I cannot recommend this book to non-specialized readers. It is not a fun read, but the subject is worthy of effort.

Hugh Thomas is one of the most prolific writers of history. His specialty, if there is one, is books on Spanish History. For me, I get the feel that I'm actually observing what he tells of. He does a lot of detail and I like that. If your interest is history, give Mr. Thomas a try.

A very informative book, not just on Columbus, but on the time and the circumstances of his rise to fame and fortune. Some will find the details overwhelming---you can skip through family histories, campaigns, etc.---, but the research is solid and much of this history is genuinely fascinating. This isn't fluffy history by any stretch.

Extremely well written and a joy to read! I love reading and this book is almost effortless in reading! I rarely find such writers. Also learning so much about the time period I did not know.

This is such an interesting book! I love the way it was written, I barely had to use it for class but I might read it on my own time cuz it's so interesting.

Well researched, written by an authority on the subject. How many obscure scholars try to make a career out of diminishing the historical importance of the Spanish Empire?Henry Kamen, for example, even suggests that the Spanish Empire was made by Germans and Indians. That preposterous theory does not pass the smell test. To the contrary, what it illustrates is the moral and intellectual prostitution of some scholars, who sell their reputation and careers for the few coins they were unable to earn with well founded and serious research. Kamen, for example, was paid by Catalonian nationalists, as he acknowledges in the preface of his book "Empire".Perhaps these authors have a problem with the name "Spanish" Empire. Because thinking that Spain was for three centuries the only superpower begs the question: "What about the current superpowers? Could they decline as much as old Spain? And what about those then insignificant nations that rose and took Spain's place in the World affairs?". As frightening as some may find it, the answer is "it will certainly happen again". For no nation has been able to lead the world longer than Rome and Spain did.To try to diminish the role of Spain in history only diminishes the place in Academia of those pseudo-intellectuals.

Wat a great read being a huge Spanish empire history buff I found it quite unique and different than all other Spanish history books, I learned many new things that I did not know so 5 star for a different spin in Spanish history

thanks!

There is not enough room in this space for me to list everything I like about this work. A fan of the author since high school, I eagerly dove into this book. Hugh Thomas was rightly lionized as the "go-to" man for information about Spain. His research is insanely good and it is well-written. It needs to be read in installments, as it is a long work and the sheer volume of information might seem tsunami-like. I learned more about Christopher Columbus than I knew existed, not to mention the follow-up conquistadors. Many Spanish figures herein come across as evil, greedy and perhaps sociopathic. A few individuals shine with their valid concerns for the natives of the newly-discovered lands. My grade of "A+" is really insufficient for the magnificence of "Rivers of Gold."