Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #256240 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-31
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Synopsis
This is the story of a great colonial empire - its birth, apotheosis and decline. Approaching the subject thematically and using the study of movement as a focus, the text provides a picture of highly mobile merchants, missionaries and administrators who characterized Portuguese culture and its expansion. It offers insights into the diversity, breadth and balance between their competing interests and priorities, spanning four centuries on four different continents. The book describes the ebb and flow of commodities, the dissemination of flora and fauna, and the transmission of styles, theories and ideas which took place during the rule of the Portuguese empire.

Customer Reviews

Scholarly but not particularly well written
I'm not sorry to have finished this book - the author's convoluted writing style makes for a pretty tough, and frankly boring, read. For example:

"These took the form of word lists and grammars drawn up by religious, in which the Jesuits were to the fore but not alone, and laymen, and which constitute a base for historical linguistics of some peoples of Africa, Asia and America." Try 220 pages of that and see what I mean (copied exactly from p193.)

In addition, another problem is the lack of summarising and failure to sufficiently spell out key messages within the text. I tired of reading the endless stories about individuals or places that are all included to make the same point. I did learn from this book but I could not read more than 20 pages at once before getting awfully sleepy.

Fascinating!
This is a lively account of the Portuguese sea discoveries in the 15th and 16th century, arriving at new lands and meeting new people, the trade and other exchanges that followed, all presented in a most interesting manner. Movement, colour, adventure make this book engaging reading. I also have Hermano Saraiva' s "Portugal a Companion History", another excellent book. I think they go very well together, one for the overseas history the other for Portugal itself. These are two books that bring history to life.

Fascinating and informative reading
This book on the Portuguese history overseas is not a boring record of past events but a lively account of the intense movement of the Portuguese in the so-called Age of Discoveries, from Madeira to Brazil, to Japan and to Korea. It is a fascinating and well-documented record of the constant flow of people and commodities between Portugal and Africa, Asia and America. The superb illustrations help bring to life this constant flux and reflux. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and am very happy to recommend it to anyone interested in Portugal and its people,of today and yesterday.