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The Struggle for the South Atlantic: The Armada of the Strait, 1581-84
Contributor(s): Rahn Phillips, Carla (Author)
ISBN: 1908145153     ISBN-13: 9781908145154
Publisher: Routledge
OUR PRICE:   $180.50  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: December 2016
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Europe - Spain & Portugal
Dewey: 946.04
LCCN: 2016025147
Series: Hakluyt Society, Third
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 7" W x 9.8" (1.50 lbs) 204 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

The Armada of the Strait under Don Diego Flores de Vald s in 1581-84 came at a crucial juncture in global politics. Philip II of Spain had assumed the crown of Portugal and its overseas empire, and Francis Drake's daring peacetime raids had challenged the dominance of Spain and Portugal in the Americas. The armada was intended to ensure the loyalty of Portuguese Brazil; bolster its defences against hostile native peoples, and English and French pirates and interlopers; and fortify and settle the Strait of Magellan to prevent further incursions into the Pacific.

Pedro de Rada, the official scribe of the armada, kept a detailed, neutral chronicle of the venture which remained in private hands until 1999 but is now held in the Henry E. Huntington Library in San Marino, California. It is published here for the first time. Previous historical assessments of the expedition have largely reflected the writings of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, governor-designate for the planned colony at the Strait, who blamed all the misfortunes of the enterprise on Diego Flores de Vald s. Rada's Relaci n is presented here in conjunction with other documentation and compared with Sarmiento de Gamboa's accusations. The results will force scholars to revise long-standing conclusions regarding the place of Sarmiento and Flores in Spanish history and the accomplishments of a long-forgotten armada sent into the terrifying waters of the South Atlantic.