I found those books useful and interesting on the question of conquest. Disease and death from disease I think is the reason for dismantling of local empires. The same did not happen in the rest of the world.
Alexander, Genghis Khan and others like that routinely rose and fell over millenia, those stories are spread in time. The Americas are a different story because of the disease vector.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Paperback – October 10, 2006
by Charles C. Mann
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created Paperback – July 24, 2012
by Charles C. Mann
I found those books useful and interesting on the question of conquest. Disease and death from disease I think is the reason for dismantling of local empires. The same did not happen in the rest of the world.
Alexander, Genghis Khan and others like that routinely rose and fell over millenia, those stories are spread in time. The Americas are a different story because of the disease vector.
Thanks for the tip. I agree that disease seems important in the Cortes and Pizarro cases, but what about Afonso?
There have always been wars, victors, conquered in history, I consider Afonso as just one more example of the same.
Thanks for these comments; I’ve updated the original post in light of them!