Table of Contents

Introduction by ].H. Plumb

PROLOGUE The tradition of conquest

PART I THE ESTABLISHMENT OF EMPIRE
I Islands and mainland in the Ocean Sea
2 Seville and the Caribbean
3 The kingdoms of the sun
4 The conquerors
5 The society of conquest
6 The maritime life-line

PART II THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPIRE
7 Rights and duties
8 The spreading of the Faith
9 The ordering of society
10 The enforcement of law

PART III THE COST OF EMPIRE
11 Demographic catastrophe
12 Economic dependence
13 Peril by sea

PART IV THE ENDURANCE OF EMPIRE
14 Decline and recovery
15 Caribbean conflicts
16 Growth and reorganisation

PART V THE DISINTEGRATION OF EMPIRE
17 Spaniards and Americans
18 The Creole revolt

CONCLUSION The aftermath of empire
Bibliographical notes
Index

About the Author

J. H. Parry (1914-1984) was educated at Cambridge and Harvard, taught at the University of the West Indies, the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and the University of Wales. He was appointed Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs at Harvard University in 1965. Among his many books are The Age of Reconnaissance and The Age of Discovery (California).

Reviews

"J. H. Parry is a meticulous scholar, and brings a wealth of information to bear. . . . He tells the long, complex story with admirable balance."--John A. Crow, "Saturday Review