This book is the posthumous work of Professor Glen F. Dille (1940–2019). It contains, as the title indicates, a section from book 20 of the formidable General and Natural History of the Indies by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo (1478–1557)—specifically chapters 5 through 36, which chronicle the fascinating and little-known expedition led by García Jofre de Loaysa.

The meticulous and synthetic introduction aims to contextualize the excerpt, its author, and his sources. Dille first offers a brief history of the spice trade in Europe—the production of spices in the Moluccas, the commercial domination of the production there by the Republic of Venice and its Arab intermediaries until the arrival of the Portuguese, and the subsequent involvement of the Spanish that ended with an Iberian struggle to monopolize trade. The introduction continues with a brief summary of the life of Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo. The editor devotes some brief paragraphs to the...

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