Conquering The Pacific

The true story of a colorful and momentous 16th-century voyage, and of the Black mariner whose accomplishment was almost lost to history.

 

It was a voyage of epic scope. In a Spanish plot to break Portugal’s trade monopoly with the fabled Orient, four ships set sail from a hidden Mexican port. The smallest of them was guided by Black seaman Lope Martín, one of the most qualified pilots of the era. Mutiny, murderous encounters with Pacific islanders, and extreme physical hardships followed—and at last a triumphant return to the New World. But the pilot of the fleet’s flagship, the Augustine friar Andrés de Urdaneta, also achieved the Vuelta, while Martín was sentenced to be hanged by the Spanish crown as repayment for his services. Acclaimed historian Andrés Reséndez delivers a “rip-roaring maritime adventure” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), making the riveting case for Martín as the scandalously overlooked Columbus of the Pacific.

Praise for Conquering the Pacific

“A pacey account [of] triumph of seamanship over wind and water.” —Wall Street Journal

“A masterwork of narrative and conception. Reséndez magically transforms dogged archival research into a sweeping vision of the past.” —Greg Grandin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The End of the Myth and Empire’s Workshop

“[Reséndez] makes the details fascinating and compelling. Readers of sailing and adventure stories will find this true account both enlightening and exciting.” —Booklist (starred review)