About book Empires Of The Atlantic World: Britain And Spain In America 1492-1830 (2006)
I can't really say that people should just sit down and read this cover to cover (I didn't read it cover to cover, only the first 2/3 or so). I think Elliott tries to cover too much ground here. There are a lot of fascinating similarities and differences between the British and Spanish Empires, yes, and I was only bored occasionally, but really. Over four hundred pages...and I did find myself wondering at times, "do we really need to get into this weirdly complicated fight that the Franciscans had with the secular clergy in Mexico City in 16-whatever right now?" Elliott can't resist going into too much detail in recounting these little moments of history that interest him, and he lingers a bit too long before heading back towards the direct comparisons, which are more compelling. And yet, this is such an impressive synthesis, and he keeps so many balls in the air, and he really seems to know what he is talking about in terms of both Britain and Spain...it is hard not to just applaud the project. I'll definitely keep it on the shelf. An important effort toward integrating the stories of Spanish America and English America. *And again...read for the second time (though I still didn't have to read it cover to cover). First was for Early America, this time for Early Modern Europe. One major theme that struck me more in this reading is the importance of timing to the story of the Americas – the way the changing social and political situation in Europe contributed to major structural differences between competing American colonies. The Castilian monarchy acquired its empire when it was in a position of great power, and it happened to quickly discover huge amounts of silver. Not surprisingly, the crown tried to assume direct control and exploit that mineral wealth, which “locked Spain and its empire into a commercial system so heavily regulated as to prove counter-productive,” at least, eventually. That's really interesting. And England also got locked into a relationship with its colonies, to an extent.
Strong prose makes this synthesis of Atlantic and transnational history stand out. Elliott argues that a combination of homeland cultures and conditions on the ground in the Americas shaped the British and Spanish empires, so that the imperial colonies differed from each other, but also from the mother countries. Sometimes the comparative format makes for tricky reading, though. Elliott tends to alternate between the Spanish and British empires within the same paragraph, prompting the reader to concentrate closely to keep the plot strands straight.
Do You like book Empires Of The Atlantic World: Britain And Spain In America 1492-1830 (2006)?
A fascinating comparison of the British and Spanish colonial empires, it demonstrates the tremendous role that chance played in the development of British and Spanish America. Both empires were conditioned by the facts on the ground (particularly the presence of large, urbanized native populations to serve as a labor force, as well as of precious metals) and the nation's previous colonial experience (whether in Ireland or Andalusia). As Elliott teasingly describes, history would have taken a profoundly different path if Henry VII rather than Ferdinand and Isabella had commissioned Columbus to sail west.
—Arbitrista
