The new conquistadors

About this book

The war in which the native-born inhabitants of South America wrested control from the Spanish and Portuguese is little known in Britain. Yet during the nineteenth century the South American people were helped in their struggle for independence by thousands of British volunteers and mercenaries - the New Conquistadors of this book. In this fascinating account Jan Read has both outlined the or igins and course of a campaign fought the length and breadth of a continent and drawn a vivid picture of the participants - the swashbuckling and fearless Lord Cochrane; William Brown the amateur admiral; the embattled William Miller of Peru - and of the rank and file of the British and Irish Legions conned into a desperate overseas adventure with promises of flags banners glory and riches.