Especias: La contienda del siglo XVI que dio forma al mundo moderno: 42

Whoever controls the spices controls the world. Spices were the driving force of the global economy in the early modern age, and for Europeans they symbolised unimaginable wealth. Spanish and Portuguese explorers competed to discover their source until, in 1511, the Portuguese finally reached the Moluccas--the coveted Spice Islands--sparking a fierce struggle for control of this immensely valuable trade. Roger Crowley reveals how this rivalry helped shape the modern world. Between 1511 and 1571, the year in which the Spaniard Miguel López de Legazpi founded Manila, European powers linked the oceans, achieved remarkable advances in warfare and navigation, built vast maritime empires, and ushered in the birth of global trade, all in their quest to dominate the supply and commerce of spices. From the shipyards of Seville to the far reaches of the Pacific, via the fiery volcanic islands of Indonesia, the frozen Arctic Circle, and the enigmatic coasts of China, this book immerses us in a thrilling historical era. Through vivid accounts of adventures, shipwrecks, and sieges, we are transported to the age of the great explorers and see how their voyages transformed the world economy and laid the foundations of a global order that would endure for centuries.