Rivers of gold : the rise of the Spanish Empire

When, in 1492, Christopher Columbus finally stood ready to set sail across the 'Ocean Sea' for what he thought was India, he crossed himself and devoted his expedition to the Holy Trinity and to the King and Queen of Spain.

With the gold and spices (and slaves) he would find, Columbus planned to fund a new Crusade to win back Jerusalem.

At the time Columbus's voyage was insignificant, but it became one of the most important events in history.

The colonisation he started was followed by the Dutch, French and British.

Pioneers like Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and the hundreds of Spaniards they inspired looked for riches, glory and to serve God in the New World.

While they didn't believe the earth was flat, they thought an Earthly Paradise existed on the far side of the Indies, and that the rivers flowed with gold.

Later the Conquistadores brought slavery, their irresistible weapons and European diseases to the ancient civilisations, and made Spain the richest nation in the world. 'A splendid volume, bold and strong in its outlines, rich in fascinating details, punctuated by well-chosen quotations from contemporaries and eyewitnesses, and accompanied by many maps and excellent illustrations' Paul Johnson, Literary Review