Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire

A gripping chronicle of Portugal’s violent trajectory from a secondary nation to European power, dominating the spice trade and building the first global economy.

Crowley masterfully narrates the first 30 years of Portuguese seafaring in the Indian Ocean (early 1500s), from Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India to the death of Afonso de Albuquerque.

The book is both a high seas adventure and a nuanced examination of Portuguese bravery, curiosity, cruelty, greed and not shying away from the horrific violence that characterized Portugal’s imperial conquest over Muslim rulers.