CARO DE TORRES, Francisco.

by Francisco Caro De Torres

£3,750 · Offered by Sokol Books

First edition of this remarkable history of the Spanish military orders, from their establishment in the Middle Ages to the reign of Philip II. Dedicated to Philip IV, this work represents a fundamental source of information about the military conquest of the New World. Francisco Caro de Torres (c. 1550-1642) was a Spanish priest, soldier and writer. Born in Seville and son of a conquistador, he had first-hand information regarding military action in America: after fighting in Italy, Azores and the Netherlands, he sailed to Peru with Fernando de Torres, count of Villar, recently appointed viceroy. During the journey, as well as in Lima, Caro de Torres dedicated himself to historical readings, realising that: the stories that were written in our language, both about the wars in Italy and in Flanders, and many of the events that happened in my presence were told in a way very different from how I had actually seen, heard and observed them (Medina). Later, he joined the troops sent to Chile to assist Alonso de Sotomayor, the Chilean governor, and a solid friendship developed between them. In August 1592, Caro de Torres accompanied de Sotomayor, who was finishing his term as governor, to Panama, where they fought and defeated the English corsairs lead by the feared and celebrated admiral Sir Francis Drake. Back to Madrid, Caro de Torres dedicated the rest of his life to writing. In the introduction to his History of the Military orders , the author states that he composed an offi

• Binding: Hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.