Annotation. Examines the parallel political, social, and cultural struggles of Spain and Portugal during the last quarter of the 20th century. The discussion covers each country in turn, ranging over such topics as the transition to democracy; political stabilization; monarchical, military, and church-related institutions; the economy; crime, feminism, and social structure; the arts and high culture; popular culture; and international relations. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Serves as a reference guide for any student interested in the modern history of Spain and Portugal. This work contains a concise narrative history, a chronology, and an A-to-Z encyclopedia covering significant people, places, events, and issues in Spanish and Portuguese history.

Spain and Portugal in the New World, 1492-1700 was first published in 1984. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. Spanish and Portuguese expansion substantially altered the social, political, and economic contours of the modern world. In his book, Lyle McAlister provides a narrative and interpretive history of the exploration and settlement of the Americas by Spain and Portugal. McAlister divides this period (and the book) into three parts. First, he describes the formation of Old World societies with particular attention to those features that influenced the directions and forms of overseas expansion. Second, he traces the dynamic processes of conquest and colonization that between 1492 and about 1570 firmly established Spanish and Portuguese dominion in the New World. The third part deals with colonial growth and consolidation down to about 1700. McAlister's main themes are: the post-conquest territorial expansion that established the limits of what later came to be called Latin America, the emergence of distinctively Spanish and Portuguese American societies and economies, the formation of systems of imperial control and exploitation, and the ways in which conflicts between imperial and American interests were reconciled. This comprehensive history, with its extensive bibliographic essay and attention to historiographic issues, will be a standard reference for students and scholars of the period.