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Conquerors
- How Portugal Seized the Indian Ocean and Forged the First Global Empire
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
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Conquerors
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Summary
As remarkable as Columbus and the conquistador expeditions, the history of Portuguese exploration is now almost forgotten.
But Portugal's navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East - then set about creating the first long-range maritime empire.
In an astonishing blitz of 30 years, a handful of visionary and utterly ruthless empire builders, with few resources but breathtaking ambition, attempted to seize the Indian Ocean, destroy Islam and take control of world trade.
Told with Roger Crowley's customary skill and verve, this is narrative history at its most vivid - an epic tale of navigation, trade and technology, money and religious zealotry, political diplomacy and espionage, sea battles and shipwrecks, endurance, courage and terrifying brutality.
Drawing on extensive firsthand accounts, it brings to life the exploits of an extraordinary band of conquerors - men such as Afonso de Albuquerque, the first European since Alexander the Great to found an Asian empire - who set in motion 500 years of European colonisation and unleashed the forces of globalisation.
Roger Crowley read English at Cambridge. He has had a varied career as a teacher and publisher and is the author of three books on the history of the Mediterranean. He lives in Gloucestershire and now writes full time.
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What listeners say about Conquerors
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- C W Singh
- 09-01-21
An illuminating account of the world’s first conquering global power
The book explains the motivations behind the Portuguese explorers insatiable appetite for discovery of a sea route to India and beyond and the search for the elusive Christian king of Ethiopia. In so doing it also highlights the ruthlessness of those pioneers in securing long lasting colonies and riches for the Portuguese king. This was to set the blueprint for the Dutch, British and French colonists who followed.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- MonkeyMaster
- 23-07-18
warts and all
I really enjoyed this and thought it was a detailed, well balanced interpretation of the historical achievements of the Portuguese during this era, recognising both the bravery and barbarity of those involved.
....as a consequence I now jokingly threaten to cut off the nose and ears of my wife for any perceived slight to myself.
I enjoyed the engaging narration and the only negative observation would be that of the prononciation of some Portuguese names
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Scott P.
- 18-04-21
Spectacular narrative history
The story of Portugal in the Indian Ocean is not commonly known. This story is excellently told and fascinating. More of Roger Crowley’s writing should be on Audible.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Karl
- 14-07-20
A great hustory lesson and fantastic listen
obviously the written accounts were skewed in favour of the conquorers whose ambition was vast and was backed up by raw brutality in the name if thier country Portugal .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Daniel K.
- 03-06-17
Fascinating
Excellent narration and very witty at times. The Portuguese are often overlooked by history, but their feat in the Indies, the characters involved and their empire building make for fascinating listening.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-02-16
Excelente livro
An outstanding run through the formative years of Portuguese colonialism, looking at how those first steps into the Indian Ocean led to a wider empire. Full of engaging characters and told as an exciting story rather than dry history, this book was a pleasure from start to end. The narrator was particularly good and helped bring the text to life.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- ric
- 23-02-21
Well written and captivating
As a portuguese national that knows fairly well the portuguese ultramarine history. I was surprised by the thorough and captivating description of Portugal past endeavours in this book fully recommend !
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Leonor C.
- 14-12-21
Not what they teach you in school
As someone who learned about these conquests in school at a young age, it’s incredible how they managed to gloss over all the bloodshed and destruction wreaked by the Portuguese. This book sets it to rights.
I do have a comment about the narration: it was quite painful to hear all the names butchered the way they were. John Sackville tried different pronunciations for each name, maybe because he wasn’t sure which was correct. As a Portuguese speaker it was very distracting and sometimes exasperating, but it’s still worth the listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Ashley
- 10-03-19
8/10
loved the book just wish it was longer, coverinh the vogages to China, Japan etc. it really enjoyed it 8/10.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Michael G.
- 11-03-23
Fabulous book, Great Narration
A great book, John Sackville has, in my opinion, the best voice in the business. I would be tempted to get a book on the strength of his narration.
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