The first of the great seaborne empires of Western Europe, Spain was the richest and most formidable European power from 1492 until the break-up of its empire 300 years later during the struggles between rival generals and the "liberators" of the 19th century. This classic study of Spain's impact on the Americas traces the conquests of Cortes and Pizarro, the economic and social consequences in Spain of trying to control an empire, its administration, the social structure, the Church, and the destruction of Indian cultures and their transformation to colonial states.  (SPN70, $26.95)