Spain's Men of the Sea

Daily Life on the Indies Fleets in the Sixteenth Century

Häftad, Engelska, 2005

AvPablo E. Perez-Mallaina,University of Seville) Perez-Mallaina, Pablo E. (Director,Pablo E Perez-Mallaina

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In the sixteenth century, Spain's control over its vast New World empire depended on the sailors and officers who manned the galleons and merchant vessels of its Atlantic fleets. In Spain's Men of the Sea, Pablo E. Perez-Mallaina paints a stunning portrait of daily life aboard the ships of the Spanish Main. With a novelist's eye for both detail and drama, Perez-Mallaina evokes the golden age of seafaring in this thoroughly researched and generously illustrated account. Spain's Men of the Sea begins in Seville, the gateway to the New World. One of Europe's most cosmopolitan cities, Seville attracted people and goods from around the world. From Seville, Perez-Mallaina follows the Spanish fleets to the West Indies ports of San Juan de Ulda, Veracruz, Cartagena, Nombre de Dios, Portobelo, and Havana. He profiles the men and boys who went to sea-from the scions of seafaring dynasties and fugitives from justice to the orphans and destitute children apprenticed into service as cabin boys. Some signed on because of family tradition, more signed on because of the lure of New World treasure or simply to obtain free passage to the Americas.Most sailors were poorly paid, but the more enterprising among them supplemented their meager wages by small-scale trade or smuggling. Perez-Mallaina also describes relations among the ship owners, officers, and crews, and traces the intervention of the Spanish government in disputes over pay and cases of insubordination and mistreatment. Perez-Mallaina paints a bleak picture of life at sea and its physical and mental effect on seamen and passengers alike. The seafaring life was defined by cramped quarters, abominable food, seasickness, vermin infestation, and disease. More frightening still was the threat of shipwreck and assault by corsairs and pirates that accompanied all sea voyages. Not surprisingly, most sailors were highly superstitious, and Perez-Mallaina closes his vivid study with an exploration of their unorthodox religious beliefs, which combined Christian and pagan elements. A significant contribution to maritime history, Spain's Men of the Sea also succeeds as a compelling tale of everyday life and death in the maritime community. "Perez-Mallaina writes well and has an engaging sense of humor.The work is richly illustrated, and the illustrations, including many color plates, are well chosen...This book should appeal to all aficionados of the romance of the sea as well as to specialists in Spanish and Latin American colonial history."-Benjamin Keen, author of A History of Latin America

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2005-05-26
Mått152 x 229 x 17 mm
Vikt454 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor304
FörlagJohns Hopkins University Press
ISBN9780801881831

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A readable and vivid portrayal of everyday life of seamen on the Indies route. -- David Goodman Mariner's Mirror The author makes commanding use of the material in the great range of archive and other sources he has mined to write a vivid and detailed account of all aspects of the day-to-day working of this great maritime endeavour by Spain... This is one of the best currently available studies of 16th century maritime life, combining impeccable scholarship with entertaining readability. Lloyds List The book opens up a raucous and rollicking past world, extracting touching human notes from very old historical documents. Kirkus Reviews Perez-Mallaina writes in an easily read style, often humorous and wry, that makes this book, unlike many a dry history tome, a pleasure to read. -- Delia Scott-Ireton Nautical Research Journal One of the greatest achievements of Spain's Men of the Sea is the depth of research and richness in detail. Perez-Mallaina supports his colourful narrative with ample examples of cases found in the archives, cases of human frailty, human greed, and human resilience. It is to the author's credit that many sixteenth-century characters come to life in this text, either through extensive description and examination of documented events, or through some equally fascinating illustrations of the period. -- Darlene Abreu-Ferreira Bulletin of the Society of Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies Provides an important reminder that it was Spain which carved out the first world empire. -- Bruce Taylor History: Reviews of New Books 2005 A fascinating and comprehensive study... I am pleased to give it my strong recommendation. -- John E. Kicza Renaissance Quarterly 2006 An incredibly valuable work... It is a pity readers without a command of the Spanish language were forced to wait so long to read it. -- B. R. Burg Itinerario: European Journal of Overseas History 2006 Fascinating, charmingly written book. -- Kris Lane Journal of Transport History 2006 Provides students and scholars with a fascinating read and will serve as a rich sea chest full of anecdotes for lectures. -- Ronald H. Fritze Sixteenth Century Journal 2007 Professor Perez-Mallaina has written a detailed and scholarly account of the lives of the men who sailed on the Carrera de Indias and his book will be of interest not only to historians of Spain and her relationship with her American colonies but also to students of Spanish literature in the Siglo de Oro. -- Patrick Williams Bulletin of Spanish Studies 2008