Product Description
This volume of collected articles is the first to focus exclusively on the history of homosexuality in the Portuguese-speaking world. Of the thirteen studies included, nine make available for the first time in English the work of eminent Luso-Brazilian historians, including no less than three by the preeminent researcher in the field, Professor Luiz Mott of the Federal University of Bahia. Two others analyze in detail the first novels, The Baron of Lavos in Portugal and Bom-Crioulo in Brazil—both written in the 1890s—that portray a homosexual relationship in a frankly realistic way. The collection should serve as essential reading for courses in Portuguese and Brazilian social history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

useful glossary and an excellent indexin Portuguese and Brazilian history
This is the best introduction that one could find to gays and homosexuals in Portuguese and Brazilian history from the 15th century to the 20th. The book examines the lives of a number of them, both at the top layer of society, including one Portuguese king, as well as at the bottom and does so in great detail that never minces words. Much of the information about them comes from Inquisition records since that institution had jurisdiction over what was then known as the "unspeakable sin". The inquisitors did not hesitate to go into minute detail about the acts they were condemning and as a result we are given extensive and valuable information about sexual practices at the time, even including some cases of bestiality. The book has a very useful glossary and an excellent index that make it easy to use. All readers who are interested in homosexuality in history and especially in Portugal and Brazil should find this pioneering book indispensable

very interesting book
This book is an amazing look into the gay life of Portugal and Brazil over a period of almost six centuries. It ranges from "outings" of two Portuguese icons, one a king, to studies of noble homosexuality as well as that of ordinary folk. Brazil is not neglected and Mott and Vainfas's contributions cover that nation well. Notable also is Johnson's "outing" of Prince Henry the Navigator, a masterly piece of historical detective work. The collection also contains unique translations of three superb studies by Luiz Mott, and overall is a really valuable contribution to understanding the gay life in Portuguese speaking countries. Highly recommended to all those interested in the social history of Portugal and Brazil.

Essential reading for history courses
This volume that includes important but never before translated studies by Portuguese and Brazilian scholars should prove essential reading material for all courses in Portuguese and Brazilian history. ... Read more

Product Description
Desde o começo da monarquia portuguesa até ao fim do reinado de Afonso III.
... Read more

Product Description
At last in paperback: The story of the savage war that drained Napoleon's armies and set the stage for his ultimate defeat at Waterloo. "A splendid book."- New York Times Book Review.

The Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal was the most bitterly fought contest of nineteenth-century Europe. From 1808 to 1814, Spanish regulars and guerrillas, along with British forces led by Sir John Moore and the Duke of Wellington, battled Napoleon's troops across the length and breadth of the Iberian Peninsula. Napoleon considered the war so insignificant that he rarely bothered to bring to it his military genius, relying instead on his marshals and simultaneously launching his disastrous Russian campaign of 1812. Yet the Peninsular War was to end with total defeat for the French, and in 1813 Wellington's army crossed the Pyrenees into mainland France. What Napoleon had called "the Spanish ulcer" ultimately helped bring down the French empire. Michael Howard of Oxford University hailed this book as "a major achievement...the first brief and balanced account of the war to have appeared within our generation." Illustrated with over a hundred maps and fifty contemporary drawings and paintings, this is a richly detailed history of a crucial period in history that resonates powerfully to this day-and figures prominently in Bernard Cornwell's internationally acclaimed novels of the Napoleonic era. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

For academics, military and war gamers, not for the casual reader
Gates' Spanish Ulcer is a one-volume history of the Peninsular War waged by France in Spain from 1808-1814.It covers all operations in this complicated conflict and contains a map every three or four pages.There is plenty here for the academic doing research, the professional military person learning the origins of guerilla, or 4th generation warfare, or the war gamer who wants to know the terrain and order of battle for a particular engagement.For the casual reader such as myself, however, the narrative is too dense and the descriptions of operations too detailed.I would have personally preferred an account that either focuses biographically on Wellington or the French marshals, or gives a smoother narrative of developments.Such was not Gates' goal, so I won't subtract any stars just because I chose the wrong book on the Peninsular War for myself.The Spanish Ulcer certainly deserves five stars for hitting the mark for those more specialized purposes.

Excellent Companion for Sharpe
In reading the Richard Sharpe series by Cornwell, one is left with an incomplete understanding of just how complex, difficult and messy the Peninsular War really was. Richard goes here - problem solved. Richard goes there - problem solved. This excellent book places all of the players in chronological and historical perspective giving the full picture of the military actions in this war. It gives scant attention to the political machinations of the adversaries; but does tie in the ebb and flow of Napoleon's commitment to this open wound on his southern flank. Well written and researched this book is well worth it.

Not even half of the story
Napoleon's decision to invade and occupy Spain in 1808 was arguably his greatest strategic political and military blunder.The Russian campaign of 1812 may have cost Napoleon more in terms of men and resources, but the Emperor was perfectly cognizant of the tremendous risk involved in taking on Tsar Alexander and collected an invasion force of three-quarters of a million men for the task, a staggering number for the period.In contrast to Russia, Napoleon believed that he could easily take Spain in a few months with 12,000 men.A quick and easy victory in Spain and Portugal, it was thought, would shore-up the continental system of keeping British goods out of Europe while providing Paris with a major source of hard currency infusion from the New World gold and silver mines.Far from being the cake walk envisioned, however, the Peninsular War dragged on for six years, cost France 150,000 casualties, inspired resistance and revolt across the empire and failed to generate any meaningful revenues for France.Like the kidnapping and execution of Duc d'Enghien in 1804, the decision to overthrow Spanish King Charles IV in 1808 was "worse than a crime; it was a mistake."

For modern strategists, the French experience on the Iberian Peninsula from 1808 to 1814 is the most compelling and enduring case study from the Napoleonic Era.The classic victories of Rivoli, Austerlitz, and Wagram may be interesting reading and make for satisfying staff rides, but they have limited, if any, contemporary applicability.The story of the Spanish insurrection and the frustration of the Imperial French forces in combating it, however, are as relevant today as the case studies of the British in Malaysia or the French in Algeria, which have grown in popularity as the US struggles to impose order in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, this much heralded military history by Oxford professor David Gates suffers from a too narrow focus on conventional military operations.His narrative describes in some detail and largely exclusively the military engagements between Wellington and the French forces under Junot, Soult, Massena and other marshals unlucky enough to be sent to Spain by Napoleon."The Spanish Ulcer" does not address the social, political or economic dimensions of the Spanish insurrection, and the final product suffers because of it.Imagine reading a history of the Vietnam War that only deals with the conventional engagements between the US Army and regular North Vietnamese forces and treats the Viet Cong and domestic pressures in America as outside the scope of the book.That is what this book is like, and it is incredibly disappointing.

Those gripes aside, Gates does highlight a few points that are worth emphasizing.First, the regular Spanish forces contributed much more to the overall success against the French than is often noted.Napoleon invaded many countries where the local army just folded after suffering initial defeat; the Spanish showed up, fought, and died for many years and after many defeats.Gates argues rather persuasively that it was the Spanish and Portuguese forces that enabled Wellington to achieve his victories, if for no other reason than they enabled his rather small force of some 40,000 men to remain focused on aggressive, offensive operations and not garrison duty or other necessary but essentially defensive tasks.Second, British sea power played a critical role in defeating the French in Spain.The peninsula was a logistical nightmare and the British navy was able to keep victuals flowing to English forces while landing amphibious strike forces anywhere along the coast line to harass the French.Third, the allies benefited from a unity of command under a competent leader, Wellington, while the French struggled to maintain command-and-control as each commander was supreme in his military district, while the power and influence of Napoleon's brother, King Joseph, in Madrid, was limited and ineffective.Finally, Gates stresses the intelligence advantage that Wellington and the allies possessed throughout the conflict, which is rather standard for local forces in insurgencies.One of Napoleon's greatest strengths in his campaigns with the Grand Army in Europe was his use of cavalry and the intelligence edge it gave him.His forces in Spain, on the other hand, where the population was hostile and the terrain could not support large cavalry forces, were effectively blind and could not communicate with forces only a day or two away.

In sum, if you are looking for a crisp and decently readable account of Wellington's conventional operations in the Peninsular War this book will do.If you are interested in historical case studies on counter insurgency campaigns that provide a broad and nuanced view of the conflict, such as Alistair Horne's "A Savage War of Peace," then "The Spanish Ulcer" is not to be recommended.

Could have been better
This is the first history of the Peninsular War that I've read, so on the one hand I can't compare it to other works on the subject as some other reviewers have done. On the other hand, I perhaps view the book differently since I am outside of that context.

I found the book to be a useful precis of the military campaigns. I was disappointed that more attention wasn't paid to political and economic forces and repercussions, or to the geurillas. I found the book to be useful for listing what happened, but very light on explaining why. I understand that is, perhaps, too much to ask for in 1 volume. I was also disappointed at what I found to be a dry presentation of the sequence of events.

I found the writing style to be easy to read once I got past some annoying eccentricities. Gates' use of semicolons; seemed odd, at least to an American reader. It seems that 'Army of XYZ' need not be put in single quotation marks (and why single?) every time it is mentioned (I know, picky-picky). In the early chapters, Gates' switches between references to individuals by their names (e.g., "Marshal Soult") and their Imperial titles (e.g., "Duke of Dalmatia"), which was at first confusing to someone who was not already familiar with the personages so referenced.

The number of maps and figures is grossly inflated and they do not support the text well, partly because of their poor quality. I noticed that the same map of Badajoz is reproduced at least 4 times. As another reviewer notes, the randomly rotating compass rose is annoying. A set of two maps which purports to show troop positions on the first day of a battle (in the first map) and on the second day (in the second map) are, in fact, identical except for a small typo. Elsewhere, one encounters a map of a battle that is mentioned in the text but not described. Campaign-level maps do not often show terrain features or road networks; battle-level maps never attempt to illustrate troop movements or stages of the fighting. Several of the figures are reproductions of paintings of events, and are of such poor quality as to be worthless (oddly, except for two paintings by Goya, no attribution to artists is made--perhaps Gates was the painter). The publisher mentions that more than 100 maps and figures occur in the volume--which means that the book could have been at least 75 pages shorter (or could have included 75 more pages of analysis and interpretation).

In summary, I found this an educational outline of the military campaigns of the Peninsular War. The work is damaged by very poor production values. I found it a useful read, but not a very entertaining one--and sometimes a frustrating one.

A one volume history of the Peninsular War
David Gates' "The Spanish Ulcer" provides one of the very few single volume histories of the Peninsular War that attempts to address the entire conflict and not focus on, for example, the exploits of the Anglo-Portuguese Army.Gates addresses the actions of the Imperial French, the struggles of the Spanish politicians, armies and guerillas, and the fiasco of Portugal prior to the British intervention.That Gates manages to do in one volume what Charles Oman required seven volumes to cover is, however, both a strength and a weakness.On the one hand, students of the era now have a single reasonably comprehensive summary of the Peninsular War phase.On the other hand, of necessity, much of the detail of a very complex conflict is compressed, while the narrative tends to jump from place to place.Some advance knowledge of the conflict is almost required to make sense of the many moving parts.Unfortunately, the maps provided in the text are not well designed and more confusing than helpful.Readers are advised to track the action on their own large map of the Iberian Peninsula.This book is strongly recommended to those with an interest in the Peninsular War but not the time or energy to work through the longer studies. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Focusing on the rich cultural diversity and artistic heritage, this book delivers a well-rounded representation of two countries and how each has been shaped by its physical make-up, location, climate, and by historic events. Includes 40 maps and 240 full-color photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

you can do better
It is an alright book, I needed it for a class and was a little disappointed with the contents. As a brief overview it was fine but I think there is a reason it is no longer in print.

Excellent survey of Iberian history
This book is excellent. It is exactly what it says it is, a cultural atlas (map of culture). The book gives an refreshing survey of Iberian history. The book covers the Phonicians, Greeks thru the death of Franco. The bookabounds with topographic and cultural maps. A must buy!!!!

Should be entitled "A Brief Encyclopedia of Iberian Culture"
Unfortunately the authors have no idea what the word ATLAS means (this seems to be the case with most recent so-called atlases that I have seen).Although there are a few maps, anyone who was hoping for an extensiveseries of interesting and detailed maps will be sorely disappointed.

Excellent book on cultural and political history of Iberia
This book offers an interesting, non-textbook style cultural and socio-political history of Spain and Portugal, well illustrated by plenty of excellent photographs.The special sections on cultural, architectural features and the great artists of the countries, like "paella", "The Great Mosque of Cordoba" and "Dali" are excellent.Another good thing about this book is that you can start reading from anywhere because the sections are self-contained. Unfortunately, not enough is mentioned about Portugal, at least not to the proportion it deserves. It is good book for those planning to visit the countries as well as those who have been there and just want to sppreciate more the history and culture of the Iberia. ... Read more

Product Description
A definitive concise history of Portugal, from its earliest beginnings right up to the politics and life of the present day.

It was not until the twelfth century that Portugal became a country in its own right, having been a Roman colony and then having suffered both Barbarian and Islamic invasions.

The golden age of discoveries, the reign and foresight of Henry the Navigator, and great seamen such as Vasco da Gama led to the founding of Portugal's empire and wealth. Troubled times followed: in 1755 Lisbon was virtually leveled by the "Great Earthquake," and the country had hardly recovered its former prosperity when it was overrun by Napoleon's troops at the start of the Peninsular War, to be followed not long after by the Miguelite civil war. The middle decades of the nineteenth century saw the Port Wine trade flourishing, and further expansion into Africa.

During the last quarter of the twentieth century, ever since the bloodless revolution of 1974 overthrew the rightwing dictatorship of Salazar, the country has regained its stability, and now takes its rightful place in the European Community.

Illustrated with maps and line drawings, the book has a full Historical Gazetteer cross-referenced to the main text that concentrates on the historic sites in a country that has retained its individuality and thus its appeal to the individual traveler. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Decent, basic travel history
I don't understand what all the fuss below is about. Some people must be upset with Mr. Robertson for reasons other than the actual content of the book. Yes, he does spell 'Os Luciados' a couple of different ways in this book, and that does seem to be poor editing; however, google indicates that the "misspellings" are all legitimate. I suppose a catholic might find fault with his characterization of Fatima as a "spiritual disneyland." But then, if he wrote about it from a Catholic perspective, it would be a theology rather than a history book.

This book is very obviously meant to be a quick overview of Portugese history for people who are on vacation there. My book dealer even helpfully put it in the "travel" section, rather than the history section. Many times in my travels, I found myself in an interesting place, completely at the mercy of the cretinous author of whatever travel book I was able to procure for myself. Having a slim book like this I can read while travelling, and refer to while in museums and other places of culture (say, to remind myself who Luis de Camoes might be) makes the trip that much more exciting and relevant. While travelling, you do not want some vast tome, impossible to carry around with you: you want a light reference, which includes timelines, and, yes, lists of Visigothic kings. I think this book admirably succeeds in its purpose for Portugal. My trip was dramatically enriched by having this book along. I probably wouldn't choose this book in studying for a test on Portugese history, and I did find it a bit dry in places and perhaps a bit spare in others. I also allow there may be better examples of this 'travel genre' on the subject of Portugese history, but those weren't available in the bookstore. I think the average english speaking tourist to Portugal will be just as pleased with this book as I was.

You can't call this a history!
This is not really a history but mainly lists of events a large number of them presented in an unusual way and with the wrong date. Names are often spelt wrong, some beyond recognition. Others are quite amusing in their changed form, like Manrique (Manique). We the readers deserve better, much better. If you want a concise history of Portugal good for the traveller, then you have the right book in Portugal a Companion History by Jose Hermano Saraiva. That one is good!

Read it with caution
Read it with caution

This book contains a lot of information, some correct some incorrect, some useful some unlikely to interest the general reader. Do you really want to read a page-long list of Visigothic kings? Worse than this kind of information is the considerable number of errors,as a typical mistake, "The Luciades". This is supposed to be "The Lusiads" (see "The Lusiads", Oxford World's Classics, a five-star book). This traveller's history puts together a lot of material from different sources, but does so unselectively and without checking for accuracy. This is as bad as the Tyson-Ward Portuguese books!

Never mind the fanatics
A basic comprehensive summary of Portugal's history.Nothing anti-Catholic about it.Today Fatima is indeed little more than Disneyland for religious zelots.

Anti-Catholic Bias
I got the book today. First thing I did was check to see what the author says about the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima. He wrote "The ecclesiastical authorities, eager to reap the fruits of fervent devotion - as so evident at Lourdes - were not slow to seize on their infantile delusions by further imposing on the gullible and largely illiterate peasantry. Pilgrimages were expediently organized. Inordinate sums were spent by Salazar in erecting a monstrous basilica at Fatima, consecrated in 1953, which is little less than an affront to any instinct of veneration, well-described as a "Spiritual Disneyland"."Tis enough! The author is an anti-Catholic bigot! ... Read more

Product Description
Franco and the Spanish Civil War is a wide-ranging and insightful analysis of the origins, course, and consequences of the conflict and of Franco's role within it. It offers a broad view of the war through a survey of the social and cultural dimensions, as well as the military and political ones. In particular, it traces Franco's meteoric rise to power, his conduct in the war, and his long subsequent rule.

This authoritative introduction illuminates the many different interpretations of the conflict by examining a variety of perspectives. Franco and the Spanish Civil War places the war in its national and global contexts, exploring both nationalist and republican points of view, and giving attention to foreign participation in the conflict. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Spanish Civil War explained
This book is an excellent introduction to the complex issue of the Spanish Civil War. De Meneses' pithy account explains the principle causes,characters and myriad groups involved in the conflict. As an undergraduate student of De Meneses I am able to note in this publication, his passion for the subject as conveyed in lectures. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain a brief insight into the Spanish Civil War. Doubtless it will awaken in the reader the desire to read more on the subject. ... Read more

Product Description
Offering a window into the history of the modern legal profession in Western Europe, Stephen Jacobson presents a history of lawyers in the most industrialized city on the Mediterranean. Far from being mere curators of static law, Barcelona's lawyers were at the center of social conflict and political and economic change, mediating between state, family, and society.

Beginning with the resurrection of a decadent bar during the Enlightenment, Jacobson traces the historical evolution of lawyers throughout the long nineteenth century. Among the issues he explores are the attributes of the modern legal profession, how lawyers engaged with the Enlightenment, how they molded events in the Age of Revolution and helped consolidate a liberal constitutional order, why a liberal profession became conservative and corporatist, and how lawyers promoted fin-de-siècle nationalism.

From the vantage point of a city with a distinguished legal tradition,Catalonia's Advocates provides fresh insight into European social and legal history; the origins of liberal professionalism; the education, training, and practice of law in the nineteenth century; the expansion of continental bureaucracies; and the corporatist aspects of modern nationalism. ... Read more

Product Description
This concise, illustrated volume explores the remarkable history of Spain -- a thriving centre of Islamic civilisation for many centuries until its conquest by the Christian kings. Before long, this country has expanded to become one of the world's greatest empires, with traces of itc culture, language, and religion throughout the world. Among other historical topics, the author recounts events of the 20th century in which Spain descended into a bloody civil war and years of dictatorship, and emerged, almost miraculously, as a fully democratic state. ... Read more

Product Description
At the beginning of the seventeenth century Spain was the foremost power in Europe. Yet during the hundred years that followed, it suffered an acute decline, economically and politically. Graham Darby traces the course of Spain's eventful history down to the inglorious end of the Habsburg monarchy and analyses the various, often conflicting, explanations and interpretations of 'decline'. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Spain in The Seventeenth Century
Superb, once again Graham Darby wrecks the review curb with a work that is both incisive and challenging. I have yet to find a more consistently excellent historical author, or one that is so willing to challenge established convention. It is refreshing to find a new slant on a time worn subject, and doubly so on a subject that is so often considered open and shut. I don't know if Graham Darby is considered the historian of a time, but for writing a book such as this he certainly deserves to be. This book, until he writes one about Palmerston or Castlereagh (possibly the greatest foreign secretaries Britain has ever had) will remain his 'magnum opus'.
The fact that this book is willing to give as much attention to the domestic situation in Spain at this period as to the foriegn situation gives it an incredibly balanced feel, and makes it useful for both students of history, and those who instruct in that fine subject.
If you need a book on this subject, then you need this book. It is all too often true that historians focus on the negative aspects of history, but Darby has shown that the history of Spain is both an invigorating, and an enjoyable read. Thoroughly appreciated. Keep up the good work Graham! ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1833 edition by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, London. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Publisher: Lisbon : A. MartinsPublication date: 1854Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
A garden at the foot of Europe and a crossroads between Spain, Africa and the New World, Andalucía has been a cultural customs house on the border of the Mediterranean and Atlantic civilizations for more than ten thousand years. This book traces its origins from the earliest hominid settlers in the Granada mountains 1.8 million years ago, through successive Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Muslim cultures, and the past five hundred years of modern Castilian rule, up to and including the present day of post-modern novelists in Córdoba and Sevilla, guerrilla urban archaeologists in Torremolinos and Marbella, and underground lo-fi bands in Granada and Málaga. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
The History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a new abridgement of Diaz del Castillo's classic Historia verdadera de la conquista de Nueva España, offers a unique contribution to our understanding of the political and religious forces that drove the great cultural encounter between Spain and the Americas known as the "conquest of Mexico." Besides containing important passages, scenes, and events excluded from other abridgements, this edition includes eight useful interpretive essays that address indigenous religions and cultural practices, sexuality during the early colonial period, the roles of women in indigenous cultures, and analysis of the political and economic purposes behind Diaz del Castillo's narrative. A series of maps illuminate the routes of the conquistadors, the organization of indigenous settlements, the struggle for the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, as well as the disastrous Spanish journey to Honduras. The information compiled for this volume offers increased accessibility to the original text, places it in a wider social and narrative context, and encourages further learning, research, and understanding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Complete Story
Sir Charles Oman's comprehensive seven volume history of the Peninsular War is the yardstick by which any other history of this theatre must be measured. It is exhaustive in detail and in breadth of coverage. If it happened, it is in one of these volumes. Napoleon may have considered Spain a side show, but as results turned out it was a bleeding ulcer. French losses here, combined with the 1812 campaign, placed a strain on the Empire which could not be overcome by even the best generalship. Any true student of the Napoleonic Wars should find these books and read them. They are essential to a complete understanding of the conflict. ... Read more

Product Description
Early Modern Spain: A social History explores the solidarities which held the Spanish nation together at this time of conflict and change. The book studies the pattern of fellowship and patronage at the local level which contributed to the notable absence of popular revolts characteristic of other European countries at this time. It also analyses the Counter-Reformation, which transformed religious attitudes, and which had a huge impact on family life, social control and popular culture.
Focusing on the main themes of the development of capitalism, the growth of the state and religious upheaval, this comprehensive social history sheds light on changes throughout Europe in the critical early modern period. ... Read more