The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II: v. II (Mediterranean & the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip)
£17.77
How billions in gold bankrupted Spain - In the 1500s, billions in gold and silver poured into Spanish coffers from the new world, yet, a century later Spain was bankrupt. What happened? Fernand Braudel has woven together a fascinating tour around the Mediterranean of the 1500s, explaining the rise of the Ottoman Empire, how Egyptians made iced drinks, why Algiers became the capital of piracy, how the banking system created the first transcontinental roads, and much more. This book immerses the reader in a new world full of rich details and suprising connections. Spain? An extravagant Star-Wars size naval fleet built with timbers imported from Scandinavia, nonexistent accounting practices, the personal greed of Spanish nobility helped along by canny bankers in the Netherlands--the wealth poured out as fast as it had come.