Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire

Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire — by Roger Crowley

I just finished Conquerors, and as someone who's been into Portugal for a while, this book really hit the spot. It’s my first deep dive into one of the most famous periods of Portuguese history, the age of exploration, and while I was expecting some brutal content, it really is engaging too.

The story kicks off with Portugal starting its journey to India. There were so many attempts at first: expeditions running into storms, getting sick, running out of food, or even getting lost at sea. They tried different routes, made deals with local rulers and traders, and slowly figured out a path that eventually shaped Portugal’s presence in the Indian Ocean, and, indirectly, the modern realities of Brazil and the Portuguese language.

The first trips to India were kind of funny. The Portuguese showed up with cheap gifts and awkward trade offers, in a country that was rich, organized, and full of goods. A little embarrassing, honestly.

Life on the ships, though, was brutal: storms, sickness, terrible food, huge losses. You really get a sense of how hard these journeys were.

Eventually, the Portuguese came back not with gifts, but with guns. And this time, they had a plan. Step by step, they broke the old trade routes between Arabia and India. Harsh, fast, and shockingly effective.

Vasco da Gama is fascinating. He’s a national hero, but also a very tough, often unpleasant man by modern standards. Still, his cold logic and determination were exactly what Portugal needed at that moment. And of course, it wasn’t just him: new ships, new science, new navigators, all of it pushed the country forward in a dramatic way.

The book doesn’t shy away from Portuguese cruelty. They attacked Muslim fleets, towns, traders, basically anyone in their way. Smart, cunning, and extremely violent. By today’s standards, some of their actions look outright barbaric, but that was the world they lived in.

Afonso de Albuquerque stands out. Less famous than da Gama, but his life reads like a movie: bold moves, big risks, unexpected victories, and personal drama. His strategy and decisiveness helped Portugal establish itself in the Indian Ocean and build its first real overseas empire.

Afonso de Albuquerque’s life was full of bold moves and risky adventures. He captured key ports like Goa and Malacca, giving Portugal control over the spice trade and building forts across the Indian Ocean. He could be ruthless when needed, launching surprise attacks or making tough deals under pressure. Even when things went wrong (rebellions, rival empires, dangerous seas) he found ways to turn problems into opportunities. His actions left a huge mark on Portugal’s empire in Asia.

The story wraps up after Albuquerque dies. That’s when Portugal stops being just a group of daring sailors and starts becoming Europe’s first true overseas empire.

This book gives you everything at once: huge battles, tiny human details, insane voyages, political intrigue, and unexpected characters. And it’s told in a fast, easy-to-read style. If you want to understand how a tiny country on the edge of Europe suddenly became a major force in the Indian Ocean, this book makes the whole adventure feel alive.