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rosecarlyle 's review for:
Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
by Roger Crowley
Spoiler-free review
I thought I knew how terrible the past was, but this work of non-fiction reminds me how lucky I am not to be living in the Indian Ocean 530 years ago when the Portuguese arrived.
Whether you were man, woman or child, you were probably going to die horribly or (worse) be kept alive. Even if you were Portuguese, between the battles and the shipwrecks, you were unlikely to be having a fine time. And then there was all the slavery. And the disease. The starvation. The thirst.
Five stars because this is an extremely well-written account of a fascinating historical period, but now I need therapy.
I thought I knew how terrible the past was, but this work of non-fiction reminds me how lucky I am not to be living in the Indian Ocean 530 years ago when the Portuguese arrived.
Whether you were man, woman or child, you were probably going to die horribly or (worse) be kept alive. Even if you were Portuguese, between the battles and the shipwrecks, you were unlikely to be having a fine time. And then there was all the slavery. And the disease. The starvation. The thirst.
Five stars because this is an extremely well-written account of a fascinating historical period, but now I need therapy.