This epic new history of Mexico spans 500 dramatic years of conquest, innovation, and revolution.

"Majestic... This exceptional narrative reminds us that the best history is about the facts, not fiction" – Peter Frankopan, The Telegraph.

It begins in 1511 with the shipwreck of two Spanish sailors in Yucatán. Just ten years later, an army of Europeans, adventurers, and indigenous revolutionaries seized the island city of Tenochtitlán, the seat of one of the largest empires in the world. This city would become Mexico City and mark the clash of two radically different worlds. The Spaniards discovered tomatoes, chocolate, and the most advanced city they had ever seen. For Mexicans, this encounter brought horses, wheels, but also deadly viruses – triggering a catastrophic century of diseases that would kill the majority of the indigenous population.

Paul Gillingham’s exceptional story records how this upheaval led to a remarkable combination of cultures. It shows how the industrial silver mining in Mexico transformed global wealth and trade, making it the center of the first truly global economy. Then, we follow how independence from Spain led to destructive wars with the United States and France. One of the world's greatest social revolutions transformed Mexico and established a one-party state that, despite its flaws, brought peace amid many of the twentieth century’s global crises – until the country collapsed into violence during the drug wars of the 2000s.

"Mexico: A History" uses the latest research with impressive results, showing how often Mexico was one of the world's great innovators; a dynamic and vital shaper of global affairs.

Pages: 752, Dimensions: 16.2x16.2cm