'Strictly speaking; there was no such thing as "the Pacific" until in 1520-1 Fernao de Magalhãis; better known as Magellan; traversed the huge expanse of waters; which then received its name.' With these opening words; Oskar Spate launches his account of the process by which the greatest blank on the map became a focus of global relations. The Spanish Lake describes the essentially European and American achievement of turning this emptiness into a nexus of economic and military power. This work is a history of the Pacific; the ocean that became a theatre of power and conflict shaped by the politics of Europe and the economic background of Spanish America. There could only be a concept of 'the Pacific' once the limits and lineaments of the ocean were set and this was undeniably the work of Europeans. Fifty years after the Conquista; Nueva España and Peru were the bases from which the ocean was turned into virtually a Spanish lake.
#2049538 in Books 2011-01-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .53 x 5.50l; .61 #File Name: 1908110007234 pages
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