Not just another maritime disaster drama, this history of a Spanish galleon sunk by the English in 1708 offers fascinating glimpses into Spain's American empire. Historian Phillips not only found abundant documentation of the
San Jose's life from construction to destruction but also connects the ship to the people who built, sailed, and died on her. The Spanish Empire's international position in the 1690s, anything but safe as predators waited for the childless Charles II to die (which, in fact, ignited war), affords additional connections to the
San Jose, for she had a vital role in transporting and defending the empire's wealth. Moreover, by plumbing the dashed hopes of those invested in the success of the
San Jose, Phillips endows her narrative with a foreboding poignancy. As Phillips biographically sketches the officers, whose miscellaneous disputations wended through the crown's bureaucracy, she additionally profiles problems of governing the distant empire. The shiver-me-timbers fans may not stick with such professionalism, but for serious history readers, Phillips delivers an exemplarily researched story.
Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Not just another maritime disaster drama, this history of a Spanish galleon sunk by the English in 1708 offers fascinating glimpses into Spain's American empire... By plumbing the dashed hopes of those invested in the success of the San José, Phillips endows her narrative with a foreboding poignancy.
(
Booklist 2007)
Her work proceeds, even with its scholarship, to retain the basic magic of the tale of the magnificent galleon under the command of the Count of Casa Alegrre and manned by 600 souls, all still resting untouched and waiting.
(
Library Journal (starred review) 2007)
Phillips' book does much to dispel longstanding myths and provides a close look at maritime practices as well as the difficulties posed by allowing memory to stand in for fact... Certainly the most fascinating portion of the book was Phillips minute description of the battle that resulted in the loss of the San Jose.
(
PhiloBiblos 2007)
It sounds like the title of a boy's own adventure tale or an Erroll Flynn movie, and rightly so: The Treasure of San José has a swashbuckling spirit and contains all the elements for an old-fashioned romance: sea battles, suave adventurers and sunken treasure. But it also displays the kind of detail and precision that comes from shrewdly plundered archives. Carla Rahn Phillips is clearly an assiduous historian with an eye for an extraordinary story.
(
Wall Street Journal 2007)
Phillips' impeccable scholarship, detailed reporting, and careful analysis will appeal primarily to students of Spanish history and naval affairs.
(Margaret A. Koger
Magill Book Reviews 2008)
A book that will please and reward all students of Spanish imperial and maritime history.
(N.A.M. Rodger
International Journal of Maritime History 2007)
A well-written and well-researched book which can be effectively read by both scholar and novice.
(John Leiby
Hispanic American Historical Review 2008)
For Carla Rahn Phillips, the sinking of the San José is significant beyond the terrible tragedy and can be used as a lens to view complex themes in a changing Spanish Empire... This is a very well-written, analytical study based on extensive fresh archival research.
(Christon I. Archer
American Historical Review 2009)
The author has used this wealth of documents to write a marvellous book, fascinating from beginning to end.
(Jaap de Moor
The Northern Mariner 2007)
A penetrating micro-study of the Spanish monarchy during the conflict over the Spanish succession... The human element is never forgotten as she probes the lives and careers not only of viceroys, but of lesser officials and soldiers, and even the humblest seamen and their families.
(Jerzy Lukowski
Bulletin of Latin American Research 2009)
A first-rate book written by an experienced historian at the height of her career.
(James A. Lewis
Itinerario )
A model work of historical investigation: painstaking, meticulous, searching. It is also an example of the best sort of microhistory: exhaustive in depth, but far-reaching in breadth. Documents are handled with unfailing deftness, and with a detective's tenacity, to provide a blow-by-blow account of the battle in which the San José went down and to resolve the question of how much cash it carried. Phillips displays versatile historianship, with outstanding work on ship construction, shipboard life, and the diplomatic background to the war.
(Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Tufts University )
