LEONARDO Y ARGENSOLA, Bartolome Juan.

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Conquista de las Islas Malucas First edition of one of the most important works for the history of the Philippines, a cornerstone for the study of Spanish exploration and trade in the East Indies, deliberately conceived to project Spanish imperial power.Leonardo de Argensola - poet, historian, and friend of Cervantes - was commissioned by the Council of the Indies to write an official history of Spanish activity in the East Indies, encompassing voyages of exploration, commercial networks, and conflicts with the Portuguese, Dutch, English, and indigenous powers. The result is, in Penrose's words, "a work written with unusual elegance and judgement, becoming a man of letters" (p. 303), and, as Hill observes, an "essential work for the history of Spanish and Portuguese exploration in the East Indies." It offers a detailed account of the 16th-century struggle between Spain, Portugal, and local kings and sultans for control of the Maluku (Moluccan) Islands.Argensola, a royal chaplain and rector of Villahermosa, brought to the project a wide command of sources, a keen understanding of global politics, and a notably refined prose style. The work focuses chiefly on the Philippines and the Moluccas, but also treats China, Java, Sumatra, Celebes, New Guinea, Ceylon, and other regions. It includes accounts of the voyage of Sir Francis Drake and of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa's expedition to the Strait of Magellan. European Americana further records references to the Americas, including Co

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