Conquerors & Colonizers

THE SPANISH MAIN : Focus or ENVY -- Philip Ainsworth Means-- Scribner ($3). Originally "The Spanish Main" meant the mainland of North and South America controlled by Spain. Eventually it came to be associated with "not only the central and crucial part of the Spanish, empire," but also with the vast sweep of ocean where Spain's enemies concentrated their attempts to destroy her power. Philip Ainsworth Means's imposing history of the Spanish Main consequently includes colonial problems as well as accounts of pirate raids, unfamiliar items on the conquest of Peru, discussions of Indian psychology and developments in European politics that affected life in the new world. Beginning with a broad description of "America on October 10, 1492," it gives a fresh account of the impact of the discovery on Europe, where in all ministries carefully-made plans were rendered irrelevant, where bewildering and unprecedented problems arose and where, in a haze of fantastic misconceptions, governments struggled for possession of unknown continents. Not a severe critic of Spain's colonial policy, Sociologist Means notes that serious attempts to develop humane methods of governing Indians were consistently made. Simple inexperience was often responsible for practices that later generations defined as brutal. Spaniards could not understand West Indian natives who had no chiefs, did not realize that they were psychologically incapable of comprehending the meaning of complex religious rites. Yet the technique of administration constantly improved, until by 1697 an unarmed priest could make peace with a powerful tribe in Central America, bringing 80,000 under the rule of Spain almost without loss of life. In some respects the priest's diplomatic problem was almost as great as the one Cortes settled with fire and sword. He was compelled to deal with a native king whose subjects wanted war and with Spanish soldiers who were no more pacific, succeeded by relying on tact, patience and the knowledge of native ways acquired in two centuries of conquest. More impressive for its sweeping interpretations than for brilliant descriptions or picturesque details, The Spanish Main nevertheless contains several compact narratives that readers are likely to find unfamiliar. One of these deals with the desperate race to find the Inca Empire, whose fame had spread through South America, had even reached Europe. About 1520 a Portuguese soldier named Alejo Garcia led an expedition across Brazil and Paraguay into the Inca country, was killed by his Indian allies on his return. Backed by a shady ring of international speculators, Sebastian Cabot led another group up the Parana River to Paraguay in 1528, sent the representatives of his backers for more support as soon as the first gold and the first llamas were en countered. Fifteen members of his party pushed on, encountered desperate hard ships, crossed the Cordillera in an audacious move, reached the Incas, hurried back to report on the wonders they had seen. But by the time Cabot could reach Europe, Pizzaro had already penetrated Peru from the north, obtained Spanish support and the greatest looting in the history of the world was well under way.

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