{"product_id":"9780141034485-rivers-of-gold","title":"Rivers of Gold","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Rise of the Spanish Empire\u003cbr\u003eTells the story of the hundreds of conquistadors who set sail on the precarious journey across the Atlantic - taking with them wheat, the horse, the guitar and the wheel as well as guns, malaria and slaves - to create an empire that made Spain the envy of the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first part of his trilogy on the Spanish Empire, Hugh Thomas's \u003ci\u003eRivers of Gold\u003c\/i\u003e brings the rise of Spain's global empire vividly to life, capturing the spirit of an ebullient age. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Inspired by hopes of both riches and of converting native people to Christianity, the Spanish adventurers of the fifteenth century convinced themselves that an Earthly Paradise existed in the Caribbean. This is the story of the hundreds of conquistadors who set sail on the precarious journey across the Atlantic - taking with them wheat, the horse, the guitar and the wheel as well as guns, malaria and slaves - to create an empire that made Spain the envy of the world. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  'Affirms Hugh Thomas's record as one of the most productive and wide-ranging historians of modern times' \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  'Splendid . bold and strong in its outlines, rich in fasinating details' \u003cbr\u003e  Paul Johnson, \u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  'So steeped is he in the spirit of the time, so familiar with its people and places that we almost feel he must have been there at the time' \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  'A vivid, dramatic and compelling narrative' \u003cbr\u003e  Arthur Schlesinger, Jr\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  'As a historian, Thomas is master of the big picture . Rivers of Gold sweeps us restlessly on' \u003cbr\u003e  Jonathan Keates, \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  'An epic history of an extraordinary age' \u003cbr\u003e  Michael Kerrigan, \u003ci\u003eScotsman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cb\u003eHugh \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eThomas \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of, among other books, \u003ci\u003eThe Spanish Civil War \u003c\/i\u003e(1962) which won the Somerset Maugham Award, \u003ci\u003eConquest: Montezuma, Cortés and the Fall of Old Mexico\u003c\/i\u003e (1994), \u003ci\u003eAn Unfinished History of the World\u003c\/i\u003e (1979) and \u003ci\u003eThe Slave Trade (\u003c\/i\u003e1997). The second volume of his planned trilogy on the Spanish Empire, \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Age: The Spanish Empire of Charles V\u003c\/i\u003e was published in 2011.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31789402325089,"sku":"9780141034485","price":18.08,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_32390947.jpg?v=1737218721","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780141034485-rivers-of-gold","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}